A 24-year-old man with a disability died after being restrained by police

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A community in central Australia is in mourning, after a Warlpiri man died after being involved in an incident with security guards and police in an Alice Springs supermarket.

Transcript

00:00The family of the 24-year-old Walprey man who died after a devastating incident here at the Kohl's

00:10supermarket on Tuesday are calling for answers and justice. Respected senior Walprey elder Ned

00:17Jappajippo Hargraves has identified the young man as his grandson and says he was living in

00:24supported accommodation because of disabilities and that he was away from his Yundamu community.

00:32In a statement the Walprey elder said family and Walprey people and many other people here in

00:38Central Australia are devastated by the death. He said that they were angry and frustrated that yet

00:44another one of their young men has lost his life at the hands of the police. He said they're demanding

00:51answers and justice and while they know that he was held down by two police until he lost

00:57consciousness they're still in the dark about what really happened. He's saying it's disgraceful

01:02police are putting out stories that portray his grandson as a criminal. Now there's been a widespread

01:09outcry from advocates and community leaders across the country. There are calls for an independent

01:17investigation into this incident and also calls for the CCTV footage and the body worn camera footage

01:24to be released. Police previously alleged that the young man was putting items into the front of his

01:33clothing when he was confronted by security and an altercation occurred which was when two plainclothes

01:40officers restrained the police officers restrained the man. They have now confirmed that the young

01:45man died minutes after police restrained him. We know from eyewitnesses that eyewitnesses said that they saw the

01:59young man being violently wrestled and slammed to the ground. The First Peoples Disability Network has joined

02:07these calls for an independent review as well as calls for culturally safe supports. Here's what Damien Griffiths

02:14from the network had to say. This is again another example of a First Nations person with disability

02:21who has lost his life and we need to stop and contemplate this for a moment. We are now approaching

02:30600 First Nations people who have died in police custody. That's an extraordinary number and it's

02:39not enough for us to be outraged as First Nations people. Australians need to be outraged.

02:45Now anti-police are saying that results from the autopsy are inconclusive and the cause of death is yet to be determined.

02:53They are saying there will be a further investigation into the cause of death. And amid these calls for an

03:00independent review into this incident, the NT's Chief Minister Leah Finocchiaro has released a statement offering her

03:08condolences to the family. She says that she's been briefed by anti-police on the death in custody and that the

03:15investigation is ongoing.

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