Yuendumu plunged into grief – again – as young Aboriginal man dies in police custody in NT
A fortnight before the central Australian town of Yuendumu was due to hear the findings of a long-running inquest into the fatal police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker, the community has been plunged into fresh grief.
A 24-year-old Warlpiri man from Yuendumu died on Tuesday afternoon after being restrained by police at an Alice Springs supermarket.
Samara Fernandez-Brown, a Warlpiri woman and cousin of Kumanjayi Walker, posted about the incident on Instagram on Tuesday night.
'Honestly feeling so devastated for family tonight,' she wrote.
'Thinking of everyone back home in sorry business, especially our young men. I am so lost for words … I am just so angry.'
Two plain clothes Northern Territory police officers were in the Coles supermarket about 1.10pm when they were alerted to a confrontation between the 24-year-old and a security guard in a shopping aisle.
'The male behaved rather aggressively and was placed on to the ground by those police officers. He was later identified as losing consciousness,' the NT police assistant commissioner Travis Wurst told reporters on Tuesday.
It was reported the young man was 'placing items down the front of his clothing' and had assaulted the security guard when confronted, he said.
After being restrained by the officers the man stopped breathing and was given CPR before being taken to Alice Springs hospital where he was pronounced dead about 2.20pm.
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Debbie Kilroy, a criminal solicitor who runs a national network advocating for incarcerated women, had not long touched down in Alice Springs for a visit to the women's prison when she saw police cars parked outside Coles.
She has since spoken to the 24-year-old's aunt, and several members of the Alice Springs community, who informed her the man had a disability and was a ward of the state.
'We have a young man who is hungry, who is on NDIS, who is under the guardianship of this government,' Kilroy said.
'Is this who we've become, that we stand back and go … the reframe is he was aggressive, he was stealing? Well, I'm sorry, even if you want to go with that narrative, a person still does not deserve to be killed and, you know, be dead on the cold, tiled floor.'
A spokesperson for the NT government did not respond to questions about whether the man was under state guardianship at the time of his death, but did provide a general statement.
'This was a tragic incident, and our thoughts go out to the man's family,' the statement said. 'It is important for everyone to allow time for the appropriate investigations to take place.'
Detectives from the major crime unit will investigate the incident as a death in custody on behalf of the coroner, police said.
Kilroy called for an independent investigation.
'Police cannot be allowed to investigate police,' she said. 'That is not independent. It is a conflict of interest.'
Theresa Roe, the chair of the North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency, said the legal sector feared more deaths in custody may follow, as detention centres and police watch houses struggle to cope with an influx of prisoners due to the NT government's tough on crime measures.
'The justice systems in crisis,' she said.
'Now we've got a death in custody, and you know, there may be more to come.'
The NT coroner was due to hand down her findings of the inquest into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker, which has been running for two-and-a-half years, on 10 June in Yuendumu.
The inquest has previously unearthed racism within NT police, prompting a public apology from the former NT police commissioner and the appointment of Arrernte lawyer Leanne Liddle to lead a 'complete transformation' of the organisation.
Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
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