A Northern Territory Labor MP has called for the Australian Federal Police to take over the investigation into the recent death in custody of 24-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White.
Mr White, who had strong connections to the Yuendumu community, was under state guardianship and living in supported accommodation. He died after being restrained by two plain-clothes NT Police Officers following an alleged altercation with a security guard at a Coles supermarket.
NT Police have launched an internal investigation, rejecting calls from Mr White's family for an independent, external body to oversee the case.
On Wednesday, Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour said that due in part to its limited capacity, NT Police have at times "not been able to cope on their own with a challenge which is complex or overwhelming".
She acknowledged that "a criminal investigation is a job which only Police can undertake — because at the end of the day, it has to be a Police decision to charge", but added: "It doesn't have to be NT Police officers who undertake the task.
"Having detectives from the AFP take over and complete the investigation which has recently been commenced would both extract NT detectives from a role which would inevitably subject them to scrutiny and criticism and would enable the Yuendumu community to have full confidence in the process going forward. This is a first step towards healing and justice."
Ms Scrymgour referred to the 2019 death in custody of Kumanjayi Walker, who was shot three times at close range by then-Constable Zachary Rolfe during a failed arrest in Yuendumu. In 2022, Mr Rolfe was acquitted of all charges following a Supreme Court trial.
She said the NT Police investigation into Mr Walker's death demonstrated "integrity and independence".
"But many of those involved in the investigation experienced ostracism and the trial and coronial journey has resulted in resentment amongst others from within the NT Police," she said.
The inquest into Mr Walker's death has revealed deeper concerns about the NT Police force. NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage described some of the evidence as "deeply disturbing," including allegations of racism and violence.
Among the allegations presented were claims that members of the NT Police's elite Tactical Response Group (TRG) handed out racist mock awards, including titles like "c--n of the year" and the "Nugedah" award — supposedly given to those displaying the most "Aboriginal-like behaviour".
"These revelations have been all the more disturbing for having been at first denied in an unsuccessful attempt to sweep them under the carpet," Ms Scrymgour said, stressing this is not reflective of all officers.
"But trust is a fragile thing and the Coronial Inquiry evidence is too recent and too jarring for it not to have consequences and implications for what is now playing out in Alice Springs in the aftermath of yet another tragic death — the death of a young Warlpiri man from the same family group."
Community members, including the family of Kumanjayi Walker, have long raised concerns about racism and over-policing in the NT.
Speaking to National Indigenous Times last year, Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said the existence of racism in the force was no secret among Aboriginal people.
"For us, it has been something that has existed forever," she said.
"I think when you work within the police force, it's hard for us to believe that anybody within the police force doesn't know that racism exists, because it comes across so obviously to us, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."
Earlier this week, Kumanjayi White's grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, also spoke out about the broader crisis facing Aboriginal communities.
"We are sick of it and we are losing lots of our loved ones," he told the ABC, referring to the number of Aboriginal people dying in custody. "We want to get the police to be accountable because it just keeps going."
