The death of a 23-year-old Aboriginal man in custody will be treated with the "utmost importance", South Australian Police say.
The man, whose family reside on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and have been notified of his death, allegedly died following an incident "fighting with another man in the carpark of the Elephant and Castle Hotel on West Terrace just after 4 pm" on Thursday last week.
Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott told reporters on Friday that police received multiple calls about "one person particularly being aggressive" and reports he "may be armed with a knife".
After experienced officers attended the scene and asked him to put down a "piece of wood or a stick" that he was holding — which he did — Assistant Commissioner Parrott said the man "resisted", and a "struggle ensued" when officers attempted to arrest him.
"During which time, the male was handcuffed, and very shortly after became unresponsive," he said.
"At which time police immediately rendered assistance, including CPR...But tragically, we were not able to revive this person, who died at the scene."
He said the death was captured on body-worn camera footage and would form part of the investigation.
"I was contacted by and spoke to a representative from the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement to discuss with them the investigation around this particular set of circumstances," Assistant Commissioner Parrott said.
The Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement has been contacted for comment.
Assistant Commissioner Parrott said he did not believe the officers involved suffered any physical injuries, and confirmed no taser or other equipment was used in the man's arrest.
"But as you can imagine, any incident like this... it's unimaginable grief for the family, and the condolences certainly do go out to the family but also for the officers involved," he said. "This is extremely traumatic.
"It's also extremely traumatic for...our community constables and our Aboriginal employees within our own organisation because it impacts them differently as well."
SA Police's Major Crime Investigation Branch will prepare a report for the coroner, while an investigation conducted by the Ethical and Professional Standards Branch and overseen by the Office of Public Integrity is also underway.
Assistant Commissioner Parrott said the internal investigation would "take as long as it takes".
"The reason for that is, and the reason I can't put a time frame on it, is we treat this with the utmost importance," he said. "You know, let's not lose sight of the fact that a person's actually lost their life here."
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