The people of Boorloo/Perth have been urged to unite in solidarity on Sunday after another Aboriginal death in custody sparked widespread calls for an independent inquiry.
The rally at 12pm in Forrest Place, Boorloo coincides with protests across the nation this weekend, calling for justice and transparency after the death in custody of Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White following an alleged altercation with a security guard at a Coles supermarket.
Mr White, 24, had ties to the Yuendumu community and was under state guardianship and living in supported accommodation when two plain-clothed NT Police officers restrained him at the shopping centre. He later died at Alice Springs Hospital.
The NT Police and Chief Minister have refused to hold an independent investigation, or release CCTV footage of the incident, despite calls from Mr White's family and Indigenous leaders, legal and human rights organisations, Senator Lidia Thorpe, federal NT MP Marion Scrymgour and federal Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy.
The Perth rally on Sunday will hear from Shannon Smith, whose brother, Noongar and Wongai man Lynton Ryan, died in prison in April, aged 31.
Organisers of the Boorloo rally include Uncle Hedley Hayward, Noongar Elder and Co-Convenor of AGFNN/ Black Greens and WA Black Greens; Uncle Herbert Bropho, Noongar Elder, Fabian Yarran Secretary AGFNN/Black Greens, and Noongar campaigner and advocate Roxy Moore.
They said Mr White's death after police restrained him with a knee on his neck was a harrowing, racist act of violence.
The incident occurred during National Reconciliation Week and the anniversary of George Floyd's notorious murder by US Police.
"This is not an isolated incident… it is part of a long and painful pattern of carceral violence, settler-colonialism, racism, and ableism killing Aboriginal people," the rally organisers said on Saturday.
"From Ms Dhu, Joyce Clarke, John Pat, Cassius Turvey, Elijah Doughty, Chris Drage and Jack Jack Simpson, to Cleveland Dodd, and so many more, the violence continues, with no accountability."
The group said many deaths in custody would have been prevented had the more than 300 Royal Commission recommendations been implemented and international law and protocols followed
"Another young person's life lost. Another family shattered. More blood on police hands… Our hearts are broken as we stand with Yuendumu and the Warlpiri people, and all our mob who have suffered and endured family dying in custody," the rally organisers said in a statement.
The group urged families, community members and supporters to bring "their signs, your voices, your love and your fire" to Sunday's rally in Forrest Place.
"Enough is enough. We call on the public, civil society, and all levels of government to act now to end systemic police violence and to honour Black lives — not with empty words, but through justice, accountability, and structural change."
Acting Police Commissioner Martin Dole has defended the internal investigation, arguing an external inquiry could compromise "further action being taken". However, similar investigations in other states are routinely handled by oversight bodies, such as the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission in NSW.
On Tuesday, National Indigenous Times reported none of the officers allegedly involved in Mr White's arrest have been stood down — more than a week after his death in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
- additional reporting by Dechlan Brennan
