Latest news with #deathincustody
SBS Australia
12 hours ago
- Health
- SBS Australia
NITV Radio News - 4/6/2025
Northern Territory's Chief Minister rejects calls for an external inquiry into the death in custody of a young and mentally disabled Aboriginal man. First Nations health providers gathering in Meanjin Brisbane for annual Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Community Health conference. And in sport - the AFL says it is weeks away from finalising its new-look illicit drugs code.
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
NT chief minister rejects calls for independent investigation into death in custody, criticises senator
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. The Northern Territory chief minister has vehemently ruled out an independent investigation into the death in custody of a young disabled Warlpiri man in an Alice Springs supermarket. Last Tuesday, 24-year-old Yuendumu man Kumanjayi White died after being restrained by plain-clothed police officers in Coles, after he allegedly assaulted a security guard in the store. Advocacy groups including Justice Not Jails, Justice for Walker and Amnesty International have been at the forefront of calls for an external inquiry, alongside Kumanjayi White's grandfather, Warlpiri elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves. Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy is also among those who have said it may be necessary for an inquiry to take place at arm's length from NT police, to ensure impartiality. The NT Police Force last week rejected those calls. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro on Tuesday said she supported police conducting an internal investigation and criticised Ms McCarthy's suggestion for it to be handed to an outside body. "It is entirely appropriate [that NT police investigate] and this is exactly what happens for all deaths in custody," Ms Finocchiaro told ABC Radio Darwin. "It's consistent nationally as well. "People can have full confidence in the Northern Territory Police Force to do their job, which is investigate matters … this now needs to take its course, and I urge everyone to respect the process." Ms Finocchiaro said she had spoken to Ms McCarthy about her comments about an external investigation, which she described as "entirely unhelpful". "If she wants to support the people of Yuendumu and people concerned about this, then the best thing she can do is use her powerful voice to call for calm and confidence in the NT Police Force." Ms Finocchiaro also said it would not be appropriate for the NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption or the NT Ombudsman to hold their own separate investigation into the death. "All of this speculation is fuelling a political debate, rather than dealing with the issue at hand," she said. Ms McCarthy's office has been contacted for comment. Speaking to the ABC on Tuesday, Mr Hargraves said Kumanjayi White's family was demanding an independent investigation into the death. "We want this police to give us the CCTV [of the incident] … we want [an] independent investigation so we can get a better understanding of what happened." In a statement earlier this week, Justice Not Jails spokesperson Natalie Hunter said the group had "no faith in the NT police force to carry out an honest and transparent investigation". "The family needs to be empowered to ask the questions they want answered on their own terms, and the police need to step out of the way and let them do that," she said. Thomas Mayo, another Justice Not Jails spokesperson, 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. "A mere glimpse at the record of police investigating themselves when there are allegations of racial violence against them is enough to understand why the family and community are calling for an independent investigation," he said. Ms Finocchiaro has also defended not visiting Alice Springs since Kumanjayi White's death, and said she would not to repeat the previous Labor government's handling of past Aboriginal deaths in custody. "It's a tragic situation but it's one that needs to be moved through carefully," she said. "I'm not going to make the same stupid mistakes that Labor made when they ran in on these types of issues, and created a political situation around something that needs to be done properly." Former NT Labor chief minister Michael Gunner faced accusations of political interference after he visited Yuendumu and told community members "consequences will flow" following the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker by a police officer in 2019.
ABC News
4 days ago
- General
- ABC News
After another Yuendumu death in custody, Australia must confront some harsh truths
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. In November 2019, the shooting death of a 19-year-old Aboriginal man in the remote Central Australian community of Yuendumu by a police officer sent shock waves around the nation. Kumanjayi Walker's shooting was investigated as a death in custody and the officer who pulled the trigger, Zachary Rolfe, was charged with his murder before being acquitted by a jury in 2022. The Supreme Court trial was followed by the longest-running coronial inquest in the Northern Territory's history — an inquiry which brought to the surface shocking allegations of racism in the NT Police Force (NTPF). The findings from Mr Walker's inquest are due to be handed down in less than a fortnight, on June 10, but whether that goes ahead as planned in Yuendumu is now up in the air. On Tuesday, a 24-year-old Warlpiri man with a disability, also hailing from Yuendumu, died after being restrained by police officers in aisle four of one of Alice Springs' main supermarkets. The NTPF has said plain-clothed officers were responding after Kumanjayi White — Kumanjayi being a western desert name for somebody who has died — allegedly assaulted a security guard in the store, after being confronted for shoplifting. This incident is now also being investigated as a death in custody. Police say forensic pathology results pinpointing the man's cause of death could still be weeks away after an initial autopsy was inconclusive. In the shadow of the Kumanjayi Walker inquest, a number of similarities stand out — more than just the men's young age and the fact they came from the same remote First Nations community. Both men also faced continued interaction with the justice system during their young lives. Mr White had faced court on charges of aggravated assault and assaulting police as recently as this year, which were ultimately withdrawn due to his disability. He had previously spent time on remand over charges related to dangerous driving and a police pursuit. Both men's deaths have also rocked the wider Central Australian community with ripples of grief and outcry. The political reactions to each man's death have also borne some similarities, as well as some starkly different approaches by the leaders of the NT government. In 2019, then-chief minister Michael Gunner travelled to Yuendumu in the wake of Mr Walker's shooting and gave a speech to community members promising justice. His promise that "consequences will flow" led to accusations of political interference when it came to a murder charge being laid against Mr Rolfe, which haunted the NT government. Since Mr White's death, current chief minister Lia Finocchiaro has chosen her words more carefully. Ms Finocchiaro has offered her condolences and said she wants the investigation to run its course but has not yet travelled to Central Australia. Instead she spent the week attending a gas conference and the NRL State of Origin in Brisbane. While there have been calls for an independent investigation to take place at arms length from police, Ms Finocchiaro is yet to give any indication that proposal will be taken up. The NTPF has been firm in rejecting calls for an external inquiry. A coronial inquest into Mr White's death will likely eventually look into the broader circumstances that led to it and perhaps seek to answer some pertinent questions. One such question being, how did a young man with a disability and on a guardianship order manage to come into contact with the criminal justice system multiple times during his young life, including stints behind bars on remand? If anything has been learned from Mr Walker's inquest, it is that during the months that follow this latest death in custody, Australia must be prepared to confront multiple uncomfortable truths about systems in place in the remote NT.
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Senior leader says Alice Springs 'at breaking point' after Warlpiri man's death in custody
An Alice Springs town councillor and senior Alyawerre man says his town is at breaking point, after a young man died in police custody this week. The 24-year-old Warlpiri man from Yuendumu died after he was restrained by NT police officers following an altercation with a supermarket security guard. NT police say the man was placing items down the front of his clothing at the Coles supermarket in Alice Springs on Tuesday, when he was confronted by security guards. Two police officers were in the supermarket at the time and restrained the man. One eye witness told the ABC the restraint "looked pretty violent". He was taken to Alice Springs Hospital and pronounced dead. An autopsy on Wednesday found the man's cause of death was "undetermined". The man's grandfather, Ned Hargraves, a senior Warlpiri elder, said their family, all Warlpiri people, and many other people in Central Australia were devastated by the death. Mr Hargraves said his grandson was living away from his Yuendumu community and in "supported accommodation because of his disabilities". The most recent high-profile death in custody in the NT was the 2019 police shooting of 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker during a bungled arrest in Yuendumu, about 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs. The long-awaited coroner's findings into Mr Walker's death are due to be handed down on June 10 in Yuendumu. For Michael Liddle, the news of another Aboriginal death in custody brought back familiar feelings. "Here we go again," the Alyawarre man said. The Alice Springs town councillor has spent years working with Aboriginal men who come into contact with the justice system. He said the town's social issues were not going away. "At the moment, there's so much anger … what happens when there's a death in custody? I'm sad to say it's happened on our front door again," he said. Thirty people have died in custody so far this year in Australia, eight of them First Nations people, according to data from the National Deaths in Custody Program. Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said an independent investigation into the man's death could be the best path forward. She said the people of Yuendumu had already experienced "many traumas", and that wounds were reopened this week. She said the best way to navigate the complex issues at play may be to take the investigation out of the Northern Territory police's hands. Ms McCarthy did not suggest which agency should investigate instead, saying that decision would lie with NT Chief Minister and Police Minister Lia Finocchiaro. "I am calling on her to recognise the tensions that do exist, that I've certainly heard from family members, but also are very aware of the difficulties for members of the police force as well," she said. "This may be an opportune time to have something different, to provide that separation and clarity." Thalia Anthony, a law professor at the University of Technology Sydney who has written extensively on the NT's legal system, also said the death should be independently investigated. "I think this has to happen by a body outside of the Northern Territory. We know what a tight-knit group and culture the Northern Territory's police force have," she said. Assistant Police Commissioner Travis Wurst said he would lead the investigation and "provide oversight" along with NT Police's Professional Standards Command, separately to the coronial investigation. Assistant Commissioner Wurst visited Yuendumu on Thursday, two days after the death of the 24-year-old man who hailed from the Central Australian community. Speaking from an energy conference in Brisbane on Thursday, Ms Finocchiaro said the death was tragic, but police had undertaken their duty to serve and protect. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the community at this incredibly difficult time, but we also stand in solidarity with our police and the security personnel involved in this incident and incidents right across the Northern Territory," she said. Ms Finocchiaro said she has not made contact with the deceased man's family. In a statement, Assistant Commissioner Wurst said police were in contact with the man's family and were "providing support" through their cultural reform team.
ABC News
7 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Grandfather of 24-year-old Yuendumu man who died in police custody pays tribute and calls for 'justice'
The grandfather of the 24-year-old man who died in police custody in Alice Springs on Tuesday has paid tribute to his grandson and called for "accountability, justice and self-determination". Ned Hargraves, a vocal senior Warlpiri elder, said in a statement his family and community were "devastated" that his "jaja" (grandson) had become "yet another one of our young men" who has died in police custody. "Our family, all Warlpiri people, and many other people here in Central Australia, are devastated by this death," Mr Hargraves said. Mr Hargraves said his grandson was living away from his Yuendumu community and in "supported accommodation because of his disabilities". "He needed support and not to be criminalised because of his disability," Mr Hargraves said. "Why was he there alone, where were the carers who were supposed to be responsible for him?" Mr Hargraves also noted the timing of his grandson's death and the record high prison numbers in the NT. "This happened on the fifth anniversary of the death of George Floyd — during Reconciliation Week — but my people have to confront another death in custody," he said. "[My people] are going into jail in record numbers — men, women and children alike. "We are suffering badly under the shadow of the NT Intervention and under a Country Liberal Party government in the NT," he added. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Northern Territory's chief forensic pathologist has completed the autopsy of the 24-year-old Yuendumu man, finding the cause of death remains "undetermined". Speaking at a press conference that afternoon, NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said the preliminary result meant the pathologist would carry out "further investigation to provide any substantive cause of death". Assistant Commissioner Wurst previously told reporters the man had been placing items down the front of his clothing at the Coles supermarket in Alice Springs at about 1.10pm when he was confronted by security guards. Mr Hargraves disputed these claims and said police were painting his grandson in a bad light. On Wednesday, the assistant commissioner said police had "collected a significant amount of evidence" including footage from CCTV cameras within the supermarket and the security guards' body-worn video camera. "We can confirm the male was taken to the ground and he remained on the ground for a number of minutes before general duties frontline officers came to the Coles complex and placed handcuffs on the male," said Assistant Commissioner Wurst. Assistant Commissioner Wurst said the man was taken to Alice Springs hospital where he was later declared deceased. Mr Hargraves said the family wanted to see the evidence gathered. "Family representatives need to see all available footage of this incident immediately — both CCTV and body cam so we can understand what happened to my jaja," he said. Assistant Commissioner Wurst said police were doing what they could to support the family and community. "Police are providing as much support into the [Yuendumu] community and being as transparent as we can be, to ensure that there is no additional unrest or concern about the conduct around this investigation." Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said in a statement that she had been briefed on the death in custody and the ongoing investigation by the acting police commissioner. "This remains an active police investigation and will be subject to the coronial process," she said. "My thoughts are with the family of the man who passed away." Opposition Leader Selena Uibo also offered her condolences to the family and said she wanted to "acknowledge our police force and security staff across the NT, who will be feeling the weight of what has occurred." Ms Uibo also called for unity in what she labelled "deeply distressing news" for the Alice Springs community. "It's more important than ever that we come together as a community. We must allow space for a full, fair, and thorough investigation," said Ms Uibo.
