The president of the Australian Human Rights Commission has urged police to stop investigating the deaths of people who have died in police custody after the death of an Aboriginal man who was restrained by police in an Alice Springs supermarket, saying the practice “breeds mistrust” and “a lack of accountability”.
It comes as the Northern Territory coroner, Judge Elisabeth Armitage, released a statement affirming that the mandatory inquest into Kumanjayi White’s death would be “independent, fair and rigorous”.
White, a 24-year-old man with several disabilities, died on 27 May after being restrained by two off-duty, plainclothes police officers following an alleged scuffle at a Coles supermarket in the central Australian town.
The AHRC president, Hugh de Kretser, joined calls from the Warlpiri man’s family, advocates and federal senators who say the investigation into his death should be independent from the NT police force.
The family have repeatedly demanded an independent investigation, the release of CCTV footage and for the officers involved to be stood down while the investigation is ongoing. On Wednesday they held a vigil outside the Alice Springs courthouse, their third since White’s death.
De Kretser used his June message to urge an independent investigation. “Community trust is critical for effective policing,” he wrote.
“Communities experiencing disadvantage need the best of policing and yet often receive the worst. It’s why the response to these, and other deaths in custody, is critical.
“When police investigate themselves, it breeds mistrust and increases the risks of poor investigations and a lack of accountability.”
He said while coronial inquests “bring a measure of independence”, they still relied on evidence gathered by police.
Victoria’s Yoorook Justice Commission recommended the establishment of an independent police oversight authority to investigate and report on all deaths after contact with police, similar to the police ombudsman in Northern Ireland.
De Kretser said all Australian jurisdictions should establish such a body. “Until they do, the mistrust and injustice that flows from police investigating themselves will continue,” he said.
Yoorook made the recommendation in its 2023 criminal justice report, in which the former chief commissioner of Victoria police, Shane Patton, “agreed that the police oversight system would be strengthened if there was independent investigation of police complaints”, De Kretser wrote.
White was from Yuendumu, a community rocked by the fatal 2019 shooting of Kumanjayi Walker by an NT police officer, Zachary Rolfe. Rolfe was charged with murder but acquitted of all charges in a supreme court trial.
The inquest into Walker’s death, which heard shocking stories of racism in NT police, was due to hand down its findings this week but the date was pushed back to next month due to concerns about community tension after White’s death.
On Thursday the NT coroner announced the appointment of Dr Peggy Dwyer SC and Maria Walz as senior counsel and instructor assisting for the inquest into White’s death.
“The Counsel Assisting team are highly experienced in the conduct of complex inquests, in NT Police practice and in knowledge of, and engagement with, Alice Springs and Yuendumu-based agencies and broader community,” Armitage said.
“Appointment of an experienced team at this early stage will help to ensure that the inquest is comprehensive and that it is completed in an independent and timely manner.”
De Kretser’s comments follow national rallies in solidarity with the Warlpiri community and in response to the death last week of another Aboriginal man in custody in Darwin.
The 68-year-old from the remote community of Wadeye died in intensive care at Darwin hospital about a week after Australian federal police arrested him in response to reports he was “intoxicated” and unable to board a flight out of Darwin. NT police said the cause of death was undetermined, pending a postmortem examination.
He was a respected and senior elder who lobbied for bilingual schooling and better education funding for his community.
The NT police and government have repeatedly ruled out another jurisdiction taking over the Alice Springs investigation. NT police have been contacted for further comment.
Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
