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Death of Indigenous man in custody sparks nationwide rallies as public 'demand justice'
Death of Indigenous man in custody sparks nationwide rallies as public 'demand justice'

Daily Mail​

time07-06-2025

  • Daily Mail​

Death of Indigenous man in custody sparks nationwide rallies as public 'demand justice'

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article refers to Indigenous people who have died. Crowds have taken to the streets across Sydney and Brisbane in the second day of nationwide protests following the death of an Indigenous man in custody. Kumanjayi White, 24, died last Tuesday after he was restrained by two police officers at a Coles supermarket in Alice Springs. Police allege the 24-year-old was involved in an altercation with security guards after being seen placing items down the front of his clothing. He was placed on the ground by two plain-clothed arresting officers before he lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead at Alice Springs Hospital. Hundreds of protesters gathered on the steps of Sydney's Town Hall on George Street on Saturday night where the lawyer for Mr White's family addressed the crowd. 'I've just come back from Alice Springs and Yuendumu, I'm angry there are mothers grieving there tonight,' lawyer George Newhouse said. 'I am angry there was a disabled young man calling out for his mother in Coles last week.' Mr Newhouse read a statement from Mr White's family, mourning the death of the 24-year-old and calling for an independent investigation. The proceedings opened with a smoking ceremony before the crowd moved south towards the Surry Hills Police Station following speeches and music. Police attended the scene on horseback and watched on as protestors held signs reading 'Stop black deaths in custody' and 'Justice for Kumanjayi'. This year alone there have been 12 Indigenous deaths in custody and 597 since the 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was established. Meanwhile, similar scenes unfolded at King George Square in Brisbane where organisers also issued calls for an independent investigation. 'No more stolen lives' a banner read, behind a stage where Gungarri woman Dr Raylene Nixon opened up about her own son's death in police custody. 'Today I carry with me, the weight of my own loss of my son Steven Lee,' she said, according to the National Indigenous Times. 'First they criminalise us, then they brutalise us and then they justify it.' Her son, Steven Lee Nixon-Mckellar, 27, died in October 2021 shortly after being arrested by a senior constable outside his relative's home in Toowoomba, Queensland. Rallies and vigils commemorating Mr White's death were also held nationwide on Friday, stretching as far as Victoria's state parliament to Alice Springs. Northern Territory Police said in a statement last week that the cause of the 24-year-old's death remained undetermined and was before forensic pathologists. They allege he assaulted a woman that was not known to him near a Commonwealth Bank on Gregory Terrace just prior to the incident at Coles. Investigations into the alleged assault are ongoing.

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