Call for action after latest death in custody

Rallies across Australia have called for an independent inquiry after the death of Kumanjayi White in a supermarket in Alive Springs on May 27.

Mr White’s grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, told a protest in Melbourne his grandson was “killed for no good reason.”

“What have we done to you. We are supposed to be working together in harmony but (police) are taking away our lives,” he said.

“He was not a criminal. He was a quiet, young man.”

Mr White had a mental disability, something local community leaders have alleged police disregarded.

Senator Lidia Thorpe, who attended the rally, said more had to be done to stop “this genocide.”

The Northern Territory Police has confirmed the officers involved had not been stood down.

NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro rejected calls for an independent investigation.

She said police were the right authority to carry it out any probe into the death, coupled with a coronial inquiry.

Hundreds of people, including Kumanjayi White’s relatives and friends, attended a rally in Alice Springs to demand “justice”.

594 Indigenous people have died in custody since 1991, including nine so far this year.