Dying Rose | ‘Shut the f**k up’: NT Police arrive instead of paramedics and traumatise family in violent arrest

A desperate mum called triple-0 to save her daughter – instead, cops stormed her home in a “traumatising” ordeal, with the young woman’s body just metres away. See the video.

When a desperate mother called triple-0 in a bid to save her daughter, she expected an ambulance to arrive – instead, five police officers entered her home and arrested her son, who required hospital treatment.

The distressing sequence of events at Lena-Rose Campbell’s Alice Springs home was captured in confronting footage taken from her living room.

On October 4, 2019, Lena-Rose woke to discover her 23-year-old daughter, Shanarra Bright Campbell, had taken her own life in the family’s backyard.

Justin Goldsmith was arrested while his sister Shanarra Bright Campbell laid dead.

“I heard my niece screaming at the back door and then I got up and ran and saw my daughter near the clothesline,” Lena-Rose said.

Lena-Rose called out to her son, Justin Goldsmith, who quickly ran downstairs and outside – who could not comprehend what he was seeing.

“I ended up looking outside and looking at my sister and she was next to the clothesline. I didn’t realise at first,” Justin said.

“It wasn’t until I touched her that I got an electric shock through my body.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains images and voices of people who have died.

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“I laid her on the ground and asked mum to help me.”

But finding Shanarra was just the beginning of their horrifying ordeal.

Shanarra is one of six women whose deaths are being investigated in Dying Rose, a podcast by The Advertiser looking into how the police responded to their deaths.

Her family said that, when they discovered her, Shanarra’s body was still warm – so Lena-Rose and Justin took her inside and desperately started giving her CPR.

Lena-Rose said she then called triple-0 for help and requested an ambulance, as she thought there may have still been a chance to save her daughter.

Shanarra Bright Campbell’s mother Lena-Rose discovered her body in October 2019. Picture: Supplied

However, police arrived instead.

Lena-Rose said five officers “forced their way into the house” and, after tensions boiled over, they pepper-sprayed and arrested her son.

Justin said the first officer came inside and told him to “shut the f*** up”, with more officers joining shortly after.

“I told them, could you just wait outside until the ambulance comes … can you please wait outside until the ambulance comes?,” Justin said.

“He (police officer) said to ‘shut the f*** up’, and I was like, nah, my head was like, I couldn’t have this right now.

“They wanted to have authority over us for whatever (reason) and I was just thinking, like, I don’t want this today.”

Shanarra’s family claims none of the officers rendered CPR to the 23-year-old, whose body was lying within metres of Justin’s arrest.

Lena-Rose said one officer even touched or stood on Shanarra’s body during the ordeal.

“They weren’t really there to help us or anything else,” he said.

“(Police were) booting me, stepping on my head and pulling my arms back.

“They were like, ‘Stop resisting arrest’, I said, ‘I‘m not resisting arrest, I just want to see my sister’.”

In the footage, Justin Goldsmith was dragged screaming along the ground while paramedics performed CPR on his sister, just metres away. Picture: Supplied by family

Shanarra Bright's mother Lena-Rose, right, along with brother Jerome Campbell and sister Jacinta Campbell. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

In two separate videos, five NT Police officers can be seen wrestling Justin in the laundry near the living room, while Lena-Rose is screaming, “Don’t hurt my son”.

The second clip shows two paramedics, who arrived shortly after the police, attempting to resuscitate Shanarra while the officers drag, pick up and carry Justin out in handcuffs.

Justin can be heard screaming at the officers, “you’re breaking my arm … you’re breaking my f**king arm.”

Almost four years later, Shanarra’s family said they were still traumatised by that day, and the events that followed their triple-0 call.

“The victim was on the ground who I rang for – it was for my daughter to be resuscitated,” Lena-Rose said.

Following Justin’s arrest, he was charged with hindering police, assaulting police and resisting arrest.

However, he said that, when he went to court for the charges just over a month later, his name was not on the list and the charges had “magically disappeared”.

His arrest and the death of his sister Shanarra occurred weeks before Warlpiri teenager 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker was shot dead by NT Police officer Zachary Rolfe in the remote community of Yuendumu, 300 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs.

Lena-Rose and Justin spent years pursuing legal avenues against NT Police and, last year, reached a settlement.

However, they said they were not satisfied by the terms.

The Advertiser has approached NT Police regarding the matter and outlined the assertions put forward by Lena-Rose and Justin about what took place that day.

NT Police said it would not be commenting on the matter.

Originally published as Dying Rose | ‘Shut the f**k up’: NT Police arrive instead of paramedics and traumatise family in violent arrest