‘It's gotta stop': Mourners' plea at vigil for Indigenous man who died in custody
Hundreds of mourners gathered for an emotional vigil at the Alice Springs supermarket where a young man died while in custody, as the Northern Territory Police rejected calls for an external investigation into the incident.
Warlpiri elders have called for witnesses to Tuesday's tragedy to come forward and help understand what led to the death of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White – named in this masthead with the family's permission – who first had an altercation with a security guard before being restrained by two police officers.
Ned Hargraves, a Warlpiri elder, called the vigil for his grandson at the Coles supermarket from noon on Friday, leading to an outpouring of grief and anger among the mourners.
'Every day our black fellas, yapa, getting stopped,' Hargraves told the vigil.
'It's gotta stop. We respect you – how about us? Respect us.
'We were meant to be working together, but we're not.'
Hargraves thanked the community for their support and said he hoped it wouldn't happen again.
'Hear our words,' he said. 'Hear us, this cannot keep going.'
Messages and tributes of bouquets and gum leaves were left at the front of the store where mourners comforted each other and wailed with grief.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Former Alice Springs Coles supermarket worker says Kumanjayi White clearly needed support
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of Indigenous people who have died, used with the permission of their families. A former Coles worker familiar with a young Aboriginal man who died in police custody at the Alice Springs supermarket last week says it was obvious he had a disability and needed help to do his shopping. Kumanjayi White, a 24-year-old Warlpiri man from the remote community of Yuendumu, died on Tuesday last week after plain-clothed police officers restrained him following an alleged altercation with security guards. Northern Territory Police and the coroner will investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr White's death. Western Arrernte man Gene Hill said he bought food for Mr White on several occasions when he worked at the Coles supermarket in Alice Springs. "One glance at him and you can see he's got special needs," he said. Mr White's grandfather Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves has previously said his grandson was "very vulnerable" and was living in supported accommodation in Alice Springs because of his disabilities. Mr Hill said he used to spot Mr White wandering the supermarket aisles, and would "simply go up to him and grab the products off him and just explain to him that it's got to be paid for". He suggested Coles should hire more Indigenous staff to help overcome language barriers and better support Aboriginal shoppers with disabilities. "They need to put a bit of money into local interpreters," he said. "There's no one for the language barrier … and they don't hire Indigenous security guards." In a statement, a Coles spokesperson said the supermarket giant was "deeply saddened" by Mr White's death. "We closed our store last week to provide the man's family and community the time and space to mourn and pay their respects," they said in a statement. The spokesperson said Coles was assisting police with their inquiries. In a statement, a spokesperson for Life Without Barriers confirmed the non-profit disability support service had provided care to Mr White. The spokesperson said Mr White was a "much loved son, brother, grandson, friend and community member". "As an organisation, we are deeply saddened by this tragedy and its impact on our people who supported and cared for him and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues," they said. The spokesperson did not answer questions about Mr White's disability support plan. Justice Not Jails spokesperson Thomas Mayo reiterated calls for an independent investigation into Mr White's death, saying "police investigating themselves is an issue all Australians should get behind". Advocates including Amnesty International have previously called for the investigation into his death to be conducted outside of NT police to "ensure impartiality", while Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy has also said that could be the best path forward. Mr Mayo said an independent investigation was "absolutely vital", particularly given allegations of racism within the NT Police Force that emerged during the coronial investigation into the fatal 2019 police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu. Acting Commissioner Martin Dole defended the decision to internally investigate Mr White's death in custody, saying responsibility for criminal investigations sat "solely" with NT police. "This is the same in every state and jurisdiction in Australia and it's no different in the Northern Territory," he told ABC Radio Alice Springs on Monday. "It's not simply a matter that a criminal investigation can be handed to someone independent as there's real risks that action that is taken could prevent further action being taken. "There's the corruption of evidence if not collected in a fashion that's admissible, there's the tainting of evidence that could render it unusable. Acting Commissioner Dole also said the coroner would have responsibility to conduct "a far more broad-reaching investigation". "That will be occurring as well in the background," he said. "When an incident happens that involves a death — and if it's a sudden and unexpected death — then the NT coroner also has jurisdiction. "Any criminal investigation still has priority and that sits squarely with the Northern Territory police." When asked about police protocols around dealing with people with disabilities, Acting Police Commissioner Dole said he did not know "if that was relevant in this circumstance". "What we've got is a situation where we had police on their lunch break acting in accordance with their oath and jumping in as an incident was unfolding," he said.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Kumanjayi Walker inquest findings delayed after death in custody of another Yuendumu man in Alice Springs
The long-awaited coronial findings into the 2019 death in custody of Aboriginal man Kumanjayi Walker will be delayed by a month, after the death of another Warlpiri man in Alice Springs last week. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains names and images of people who have died, used with the permission of their family. Mr Walker, a 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man, died in 2019, after he was shot by then-Constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu, 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs. Mr Rolfe was later acquitted of murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death after a Supreme Court trial in 2022. A mandatory coronial inquest into the police shooting began in September 2022, examining the broad circumstances of Mr Walker's death. Coroner Elisabeth Armitage described some of the evidence she heard as "deeply disturbing", as the inquiry unveiled allegations of widespread, systemic racism within the NT Police Force. Her findings were due to be handed down in Yuendumu on June 10. However, the community was plunged into grief again last week, when 24-year-old Kumanjayi White — another Warlpiri man — died in custody in Alice Springs. Samara Fernandez-Brown, a prominent voice for Mr Walker's family and the 'Justice for Walker' campaign, said she was heartbroken and disgusted at news of another Aboriginal death in custody. "We have been in pain since 2019 and with Kumanjayi Walker's inquest coming to an end, we were looking forward to truly beginning our healing process," Ms Fernandez-Brown, Mr Walker's cousin, said in a statement. "This is gut-wrenching pain. It is sickening. The kind that stops you from eating and keeps you up at night. "I can't believe this has happened to another young Warlpiri man." Ms Armitage had been invited by members of Mr Walker's family to visit Yuendumu to hand down her findings. With the community again in sorry business — a period of mourning after the death of an Indigenous person — the court's visit has been delayed. Simon Fisher senior, a grandfather of both Mr Walker and Mr White, said "this is so much trauma for all of us". "Grandson was a funny young man, a funny little character," he said in a statement. Joyce Brown, an aunty of Mr Walker, said the fresh tragedy felt "so wrong". "We have so much pain, this has traumatised us all over again," she said. "We were just getting to the end of the inquest for Kumanjayi [Walker] after a really long time and now it will start all over again." The inquest findings will now be handed down on July 7 in either Yuendumu or Alice Springs, depending on the community's wishes.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Crowds attend Sydney vigil for young Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White's death in custody
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of Indigenous people who have died, used with the permission of their families. Crowds have gathered at Sydney's town hall for a candlelit vigil in response to the death in custody of a young Warlpiri man in Alice Springs last week. The 24-year-old Yuendumu man — known now as Kumanjayi White — died on Tuesday after being restrained by police officers on a supermarket floor following an altercation. Kumanjayi White's family said the young man was vulnerable, had disabilities and was living away from his home community of Yuendumu because he required supported accommodation in Alice Springs. NT Police said plain-clothed officers responded after Kumanjayi White allegedly assaulted a security guard, who had confronted him about shoplifting in the store. His grandfather, Warlpiri elder Ned Jampjinpa Hargraves, said his jaja (grandson) had "needed support and not to be criminalised because of his disability". As Reconciliation Week draws to a close, those speaking at the event on Sunday evening said they wanted to bring First Nations people together to reflect on and mourn Kumanjayi White's death. Dunghutti man and activist Paul Silva said there should be a national spotlight on the systems that were continuing to fail First Nations people. Mr Silva is the nephew of David Dungay Jnr, who died in custody at Sydney's Long Bay Prison Hospital in 2015. "This man was vulnerable," Mr Silva said. "Tonight we mourn and we stand with his family and community. The incident involving Kumanjayi White is being investigated as a death in custody, with an initial autopsy on Wednesday finding the cause of death to be "undetermined". On Friday a vigil for Kumanjayi White was held in Alice Springs and later that afternoon NT Police rejected calls for an independent investigation. Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said he was leading the police investigation and would "provide oversight" along with NT Police's Professional Standards Command.
