More than 10 months after the death in custody of disabled Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White, Northern Territory Police have confirmed an "independent" review into the use of force has been completed, however have refused to say when it will be returned to prosecutors or whether charges will be laid.
The 24-year-old died in May last year after being restrained by two plain-clothed NT Police officers inside a Coles supermarket in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Despite an autopsy, an internal police investigation and a brief of evidence being provided to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in September, no charges have been announced.
In January, police said the DPP had requested a further review of the force used during the incident, with an interstate police jurisdiction tasked with compiling the report.
In "facilitating" the DPP's request, a spokesperson for the NT Police said it confirmed an "interstate police jurisdiction" was compiling the review, which was "expected to be delivered at the end of March 2026".
When asked by National Indigenous Times on Thursday if they had received the information, a NT Police spokesperson said the information was received by the force on Wednesday afternoon.
The spokesperson said they could "confirm that the independent use of force review has been completed and was received yesterday afternoon".
"This report is currently being assessed and will form part of an evidentiary brief that is supplied to the Department Public Prosecutions."
Police declined to say which interstate force conducted the review or when the updated brief would be sent back to the DPP.
When asked if they had received the review from NT Police, and if so, when information regarding potential charges could be released, the DPP declined to comment, only redirecting National Indigenous Times to NT Police.
White's family have long been critical over the communication from NT Police, arguing it would be different if he was non-Indigenous.
His grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, told the ABC in January he had not been told at least some of the case would be partially reviewed by interstate police.
"No police, no commissioner, nobody [told me]," he said.
"It's really sickened me.
"They are the ones who should front up to me, talk to us, talk to the family."
The National Justice Project, which is representing the family, did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
The case has drawn national scrutiny after NT Police and the Chief Minister rejected calls for an independent investigation, amid longstanding concerns from Aboriginal communities about racist policing across the Territory.
Authorities have still not explained how White — who was under state guardianship and living in supported accommodation — died after being taken into police custody.
An initial police statement said only that officers had "restrained the adult male" before he "stopped breathing and CPR was commenced", without explaining how he lost consciousness. Nonetheless, they chose to highlight White's alleged criminality.
Police Commissioner Martin Dole previously said the force does not "comment on individual officers involved", but confirmed last year the officers had been moved into non-operational, forward-facing administrative roles.
One of the officers connected to the events surrounding White's death — NT Police prosecutor Steven Haig — has continued to accept briefs, including his role in prosecuting White's father by kinship, Martin "Isaac" Jabarula White, in August last year.
The family has continued to demand accountability, including a completely independent investigation and release of body-worn camera footage. In November, six months after his jaja's (grandson's) death, Mr Hargraves said: "We know that if an Aboriginal person had done this, they would be behind bars."
"We have been told there is a criminal investigation and police have given a brief of evidence to the DPP, but the police involved in my Jaja's death are still on duty. How is this possible? They must be stood down immediately."
The case was also raised in federal parliament on Thursday by Senator Lidia Thorpe, who linked it to broader concerns over deaths in custody and the delayed release of police body-worn camera footage into the 2021 death in custody of Stevie Lee Nixon McKellar.
"In the case of Kumanjayi White, over 10 months later, Northern Territory police have made no prosecutions and given no resolution to the family. Findings were supposed to be released by the end of March," she said.
"The deadline has now passed, and we've heard nothing. It follows a long, long history of violent police investigating themselves, a protection racket that consistently offers silence and denies our people any justice."
