The family of an Indigenous man who died in police custody say they remain deeply distressed by delays and poor communication from investigators.
On Monday, the Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) confirmed it had officially received a brief of evidence from NT Police into the May death of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White.
Mr White, a disabled Warlpiri man with strong ties to Yuendumu, died after being restrained by two plain-clothed NT Police officers at a Coles supermarket in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. He was under state guardianship and living in supported accommodation at the time.
Acting NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole told reporters the force had "compiled a full and comprehensive brief of evidence, which has now been provided to the DPP".
"It is the Director of Public Prosecutions that will now determine whether criminal charges will be laid against any officer or officers involved," he said.
Despite this, the officers involved have not been stood down, a decision the family says has left them further distressed in the absence of independent oversight.
"We want parumpurru"
Kumanjayi White's grandfather and Warlpiri Elder, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said the family and community are still seeking parumpurru (justice).
"We want parumpurru. It is sacred. Kardiya — white people — don't respect it, but we respect it, because parumpurru is the truth. We're not getting any truth from the colonial system," he said.
Mr Hargraves added the family are "still fighting a bunch of rlinjirrpa (aggressive bullies,)" and vowed they would travel to Darwin in October to "stand against the racist CLP government". He added the "colonial system" is unfair for First Nations people and perpetuates "suffering".
"It doesn't recognise our rights. We want the government to listen to us, but they don't," he said.
"So, we want justice, we want independent oversight and we need a change of government in the NT. We can only hope that justice prevails."
Leanne Liddle, NT Police's executive director of cultural reform, who visited Yuendumu following Mr White's funeral, defended the length of the investigation.
"People have said that this process has taken too long," she said.
"But we've had to wait this period of time to get the brief together and the information together before we move forward. And it's difficult for people to understand the depth of the briefs that need to be provided."
Erosion of faith in the system
George Newhouse, Chief Executive of the Sydney-based National Justice Project, which is supporting the family, said delays only erode "what little faith the family has in our legal system".
"The family continues to demand that the officers be stood down immediately now that a brief has been sent to the DPP," he said.
"How the police have handled this situation is another example of how the colonial justice system fails First Nations people. An independent investigation is still urgently needed."
NT Police have argued an external probe could compromise future prosecutions; however, support for an independent inquiry has been widespread. Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, Senator Lidia Thorpe, and Member for Lingiari and Special Envoy for Remote Communities, Marion Scrymgour, have all previously voiced support for one.
Mr Dole said there is currently no body in Australia that "can just be called upon" to independently investigate deaths in custody.
"So, we've not shied away from those conversations nationally," he said.
"If people are still calling for that to occur — and we're happy to be involved in those conversations nationally with other police commissioners and with politicians — if something like that was to be set up across Australia."
NT Police have not named or stood down the officers involved. However, the National Indigenous Times understands one officer is NT Police prosecutor Steven Haig, who has continued working in Alice Springs since the incident.
Mr Dole said it was not NT Police policy to "comment on individual officers involved," but confirmed they were working in "non-operational, forward-facing positions in administrative roles".
National Indigenous Times has previously reported Mr Haig has faced allegations of aggressive conduct towards Indigenous people. NT Police have refused to confirm whether any disciplinary action has been taken.
