Grieving grandfather demands answers after death in custody of disabled Indigenous man

Uncle Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves is desperate for answers as to why his vulnerable grandson was alone with police, and why First Nations people are left grieving yet another death in custody.

Hargraves, a Warlpiri elder, said his family and many other people in Central Australia were devastated by the loss of his 24-year-old “jaja” (grandson), who died while in police custody in Alice Springs on Tuesday.

Warlpiri elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, seen here in 2022, said his family has been left in the dark about what happened to his grandson, who died in custody this week.Credit: AAP

“I am angry and frustrated that yet another one of our young men has lost his life at the hands of the police,” Hargraves said.

“We are demanding answers and justice.”

Two plainclothes Northern Territory police were restraining the young Yuendumu man inside an Alice Springs Coles supermarket about 1.10pm on Tuesday when they noticed he had stopped breathing.

The Indigenous man was taken to hospital but died an hour later.

In a statement on Thursday paying tribute to his grandson, Hargraves said his family demanded accountability for the death.

“We know that he was held down by two police until he lost consciousness and perished. But at the moment, we are in the dark about what really happened.”

“It is disgraceful that police are already putting out stories that portray my jaja as a criminal. We are always told by lawyers that we need to wait for investigations to take place before we comment on events.

“But police have not waited – they are trying to run him down. We demand they stop spreading stories and show some respect.”

The Alice Springs town centre.Credit: Louie Douvis

Hargraves said his grandson had disabilities that led him to live away from his Yuendumu community and in supported accommodation in town – raising further questions about why he had been alone in the supermarket.

“He needed support and not to be criminalised because of his disability,” he said. “What are the police doing using such force on a vulnerable young man in a supermarket? Did they even try to de-escalate?

“Why was he there alone, where were the carers who were supposed to be responsible for him?”

The young Yuendumu man is the 32nd person to die in custody in Australia this year, and the ninth Indigenous person to die under such circumstances this year, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology’s National Deaths In Custody Program.

His death occurred just a fortnight before the long-awaited coroner’s findings into the 2019 shooting death of young Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker are due to be handed down.

Walker, 19, was shot three times by NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in remote Yuendumu, about 300 kilometres from Alice Springs. Rolfe was acquitted of criminal charges over Walkers’s death.

“This happened on the fifth anniversary of the death of George Floyd [in the US] – during Reconciliation Week – but my people have to confront another death in custody,” Hargraves said.

“My people are being routinely brutalised by police. We are going into jail in record numbers – men, women and children alike.

Hargraves delivered a message outside court on behalf of the family of Kumanjayi Walker after police officer Zachary Rolfe was acquitted over Walker’s death in March 2022.

“We are suffering badly under the shadow of the NT Intervention and under a Country Liberal Party government in the NT that is making many racist policies against us – sending more people to jail and threatening our sacred sites. This is making racists more confident to attack us.”

Representatives for the 24-year-old Yuendumu man’s family have asked to see all available footage of the incident from the supermarket CCTV as well as police body cams, Hargraves said.

On Tuesday, NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said security guards initially confronted the 24-year-old as he was allegedly putting items down the front of his clothes.

Wurst said police who were already inside the store became involved after the man had a scuffle with a security guard, before noticing he was unresponsive.

“The male was taken to the ground, and he remained on the ground for a number of minutes before general duties front-line officers came to the complex and placed handcuffs on the male,” Wurst said.

“At about this point, it was determined the male had lost consciousness. The handcuffs were removed, first aid was administered immediately, and that did include some CPR, while [St John Ambulance] were awaiting to attend. They arrived [and] took over the primary care.”

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