Calls persist for external probe into death in custody

Canberra should withhold funding from a territory government until it allows an independent inquiry into the death in custody of a young man living with disability, a key Aboriginal authority says.

Kumanjayi White died shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers at a supermarket in Alice Springs on May 27.

Police allege the the 24-year-old, originally from the desert community of Yuendumu, was shoplifting and had assaulted a security guard who confronted him in the confectionery aisle.

Calls have been growing for an independent inquiry to ensure impartiality and avoid issues concerning officers investigating their own.

NT Police and Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro strongly reject the calls, saying police are the right authority to carry out an investigation coupled with a coronial inquiry.

On Wednesday the Central Land Council (CLC) representing Indigenous people in the NT's dry desert centre called on the federal government to withhold funding from the NT government.

The council wants an independent police conduct commission to be set up with adequate funding so an independent inquiry led by the NT coroner can be concluded within a year.

"Unlike most jurisdictions the NT lacks a body to investigate police misconduct and has failed to overhaul the culture of its police force," CLC chair Warren Williams said in a statement.

"But let me be clear, only money will force the NT government to act. Our lives are worth less than a chocolate bar to those in power and money is the only language they understand."

Mr Williams said measures must target officers with "a history of complaints and racist attitudes" so Indigenous communities could regain confidence in the police after trust has been eroded.

Advocacy groups including Amnesty International and Justice Not Jails along with Kumanjayi White's grandfather, Warlpiri elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, have been calling for an external inquiry.

The Yuendumu community also lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019 when he was fatally shot by then NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a bungled arrest.

Mr Rolfe was in 2022 found not guilty of all charges over the death.

The Kumanjayi Walker coronial findings have been postponed until July 7 after Kumanjayi White's death in custody.

Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said on Thursday an independent death in custody probe might be warranted "in the interest of having some separation".

A day earlier, NT Police said the death of Kumanjayi White was being investigated by the Major Crime Section, which operated under strict protocols and with full transparency.

The criminal investigation would determine whether any criminality was involved, but evidence including CCTV footage could not be released until that investigation concluded, police said in a statement.

The cause of the man's death remains undetermined.

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