Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves accuses NT Police of lacking transparency
The family of a young disabled Aboriginal man who died in police custody have accused police of failing to communicate with his distressed loved ones.
The family of a young disabled Aboriginal man who died following an arrest in an outback supermarket have accused NT Police of failing to be transparent as they seek parumpurru (justice) for their loved one.
On Monday the NT Police confirmed the brief of evidence against two NT Police Officers involved in the death in custody of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White had been handed over to the Director of Public Prosecution.
The 24-year-old Warlpiri man from Yuendumu was on a NDIS plan living in 24/7 supported care and under a public guardianship order when he passed away following an arrest at the Alice Springs supermarket.
Kumanjayi White was in the confectionery aisle of Coles when he was being restrained to the ground by non-uniformed police officers on Tuesday, May 27, after allegedly getting into an altercation with security.
At the time a witness told the NT News a police officer allegedly had his “knee behind his head” as the young man’s friends called out “this fella has a disability, he’s disabled, just be a bit more careful”.
Four months after the death in custody and days after his funeral, Kumanjayi White’s family have called out what they have perceived as a lack of transparency into the investigation of their loved one’s death.
Kumanjayi White’s grandfather and Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves said his family were simply searching for the truth of what happened to his jaja (grandson).
“We are right now still in the midst of parumpurru — justice,” Mr Hargraves said.
“We want parumpurru. It is sacred.
“Kardiya — white people — don’t respect it, but we respect it, because parumpurru is the truth.
“We’re not getting any truth from the colonial system.
“We can only hope that justice prevails.”
National Justice Project principal solicitor George Newhouse said the ongoing delays and uncertainty were “eroding what little faith the family has in our legal system”.
“The family continues to demand that the officers be stood down immediately now that a brief has been sent to the DPP,” Mr Newhouse said.
NT Police Acting Commissioner Martin Dole has confirmed that neither officers were suspended during the death in custody investigation , and were on-duty in “non-operational, forward facing positions in administrative roles”.
Kumanjayi White’s family have called for the investigation into the two Alice Springs officers to be taken out of the hands of NT Police, however Mr Dole has repeatedly said this was not feasible.
Mr Dole said the brief of evidence — including the final autopsy and supermarket CCTV — would be left with the prosecutors to determine if charges should be laid against the two police officers.
Despite requests from Kumanjayi White’s family, the police boss said the CCTV footage had not been released to his loved ones.
Mr Dole said the police could “continue to liaise with the family, as has been the case all the way along”.
The police chief also confirmed that despite calls from Kumanjayi White’s family, he had not returned to the remote community since the Walker coronial findings in July.
Mr Newhouse said Kumanjayi White’s family had not given up their calls for an urgent independent investigation, to improve trust between First Nations peoples and the “colonial justice system”.
Yuendumu is a remote town of just 740 people that has lost two young men to police deaths in custody in just six years, after 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja teen Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times by Constable Zachary Rolfe during a bungled arrest.
Mr Hargraves has consistently called on the NT Government to listen to Aboriginal community leaders, particularly as the CLP government ramps up its ‘tough on crime’ platform.
“We are suffering. It doesn’t recognise our rights,” he said.
“We want the government to listen to us, but they don’t.
“So, we want justice, we want independent oversight and we need a change of government in the NT.”
The Central Australian Elder said he would be returning to Darwin in October to protest the government, saying: “We are still fighting a bunch of rlinjirrpa — aggressive bullies”.
More Coverage
Originally published as Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves accuses NT Police of lacking transparency
