Calls for answers after 24-year-old Aboriginal man dies in custody

9 News29-05-2025

Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here A prominent legal service and a vocal senator have joined the community call for justice after the death in custody of a 24-year-old Aboriginal man in Alice Springs. The man was declared dead in hospital about 70 minutes after he was restrained on the ground following an altercation with security guards at the local Coles about 1.10pm on Tuesday. NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst earlier said the man had allegedly placed items down his clothing, assaulted one of the security guards when he was confronted and became aggressive with the plain clothes officers who were at Coles at the time and responded. The man was declared dead in hospital in Alice Springs. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) In an update yesterday afternoon, Wurst was able to confirm what transpired after the investigation team reviewed CCTV and body-worn footage from the security guards. "We can confirm the male was taken to the ground. 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," he said. "At about this point, it was determined that the male had lost consciousness. "The handcuffs were removed, first aid was administered immediately, and that included some CPR." Paramedics attended and rushed the man to Alice Springs Hospital, where he died. Wurst said his death was a "tragedy". The 24-year-old has been identified as a Warlpiri man who had been living in Alice Springs for several years. He is understood to have been living with a disability, on the NDIS and under state care. Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst. (NT Police) Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said her thoughts were with the man's family and confirmed she had been briefed by the acting commissioner. "The incident which occurred in Alice Springs (on Tuesday) is now subject to formal investigation," she said. Wurst said an autopsy has been conducted, but the cause of death was undetermined. "The pathologist is required to do further investigation to provide any substantive cause of death to assist the investigation," he said. The incident is being treated as a death in custody and will be subject to a coronial inquest. Wurst is leading what he said was a "complex investigation" on behalf of the coroner, which will be subject to oversight and is separate from the inquest. "I'm comfortable, and I can provide comfort to the Northern Territory community that we will provide an objective, professional and transparent investigation," he said. Wurst said initial inquiries have found that the man was involved in an altercation with an unknown woman and struck her back near the Commonwealth Bank on Gregory Terrace before the incident at Coles. Police are appealing for anyone with information about either incident to come forward. Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Lia Finocchiaro. (Alex Ellinghausen) Chair of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency Theresa Roe said the incident was "tragic on all levels". "We've been very concerned that there would be a potential death in custody due to all the pressures in the justice system," she told 9news.com.au. "Now it's happened, so it's very distressing." Roe has seen a spike in demand for her services due to the territory's wave of tough new crime laws, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10, which she said has failed to address underlying issues like poverty, overcrowding and poor education outcomes. "The high rates of Aboriginal people being locked up, they're in the watch houses now, due to the overcrowding in the prisons, and we're having a lot of young people being locked up," she said. "You can see what the writing on the wall is. You can see what's going to happen with all these punitive laws. "Locking more people up is not the solution. There are better ways to deal with people." Roe accused the NT government of neglecting Indigenous communities and called for Finocchiaro to meet with key stakeholders. "This government is failing Aboriginal people across the Northern Territory, in our communities. Things are getting worse, they're not getting better," she said. "We need an intervention on this government because we just can't sit back and just watch more of our people die in custody, get locked up." Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe joined the community call for justice and answers. "He was hungry, and he needed care. Instead, he was met with brutal force," she said. "For decades, our people have called for an end to this violence — for justice, accountability, and care instead of cruelty. But still, our voices are ignored. "This is not an isolated tragedy — it's part of a brutal pattern where our people die at the hands of police and in prisons. We won't stop speaking out until it ends." "We demand justice. We demand answers. And we stand with community in calling for truth, accountability, and change." For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76). CONTACT US
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Grandfather pens letter to PM after death in custody

The Advertiser

13 hours ago

The Advertiser

Grandfather pens letter to PM after death in custody

The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers. The grandfather of a 24-year-old man who died in custody has drafted an open letter to the prime minister calling on Canberra to step in and address "madness" in the Northern Territory's justice system. The senior Warlpiri leader and kin of Kumanjayi White, who died after being forcibly restrained by two plain clothes officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs in May, said justice in the Territory was "in crisis". "Your government in Canberra has total power over the NT," Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Yuendumu man, wrote. "The prisons are so full they need private security guards; guards on buses and public housing officers are being given guns - this madness must stop." The letter addressed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese landed ahead of protests in Sydney and Alice Springs on Saturday to demand justice for Mr White. The senior Indigenous leader renewed his call for an independent investigation into the death of his grandson. The family has also been calling for the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation takes place. Federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, backs an independent inquiry but despite broad support, the NT government has rejected the proposal, saying NT Police are best-placed to investigate the death. Police allege Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard. In his letter, Mr Hargraves demanded immediate action from the Commonwealth, including withholding funding to the NT government until it agreed to an independent probe. "You used this power to take away all our rights, our jobs and our assets with the NT Intervention 18 years ago today," he said. "Now we demand action from Canberra to see that our rights are restored and we are protected from the racist Country Liberal Party government." Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap in Darwin on Friday, Senator McCarthy said deaths in custody had to end and the federal government was deeply concerned about the issue. The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest. Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022. Protesters in Sydney gathered to respond to a policing conference involving the former police officer but the first responders event has since been cancelled, according to the rally organisers.