NT police rule out charges over Kumanjayi White death
Northern Territory police will not lay charges over kumanjayi White’s death after he was restrained in a Coles supermarket in Alice Springs. Commissioner Martin Dole said the department of police prosecutions declined to proceed after a thorough investigation.
White was 24 and lived with cognitive disabilities. Police said he died on 27 May last year during a confrontation in the store after plainclothes officers stepped in following an altercation with a security guard, and police alleged he had been shoplifting.
Martin Dole on the prosecution decision
Dole said a brief of evidence was submitted to the director of public prosecutions for an opinion. He said the DPP, after considering the available evidence, including an independent expert report, formed the view that there was no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution.
“Every effort was made to ensure the investigation was appropriately resourced and conducted in a thorough and fair manner,” Dole said on Tuesday. He also said, “I acknowledge immediately that this outcome will cause significant distress, pain and anger for Kumanjayi White’s family and for many Aboriginal people across Central Australia and the territory.”
Lajamanu family visit
Police flew to the remote community of Lajamanu on Tuesday to inform White’s mother and the maternal side of the family. According to ABC reporting, the family said, “We have got no hope. When will we have our justice? How can we keep living like this?”
The family is suing NT police over the death and alleges two officers acted unlawfully in apprehending White and taking him into custody. reported that the family planned a week-long blackout after being told the news, while the family also said, “Today the police turned up in Lajamanu with the acting director of public prosecutions and told the family that they are not proceeding with any charges.”
Calls for accountability
The death sparked outrage, rallies and calls for accountability and an independent probe. Federal MP and member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour echoed those calls, and Leanne Liddle, deputy director of cultural reform with NT police, said families were being supported after “significant events in the last couple of weeks.”
The decision leaves White’s family without criminal charges against the officers involved, while the civil case continues. The immediate question for the family now is whether the court case can deliver the scrutiny they said they have not received from the charging process.
