NT authorities investigate the second Aboriginal death in police custody

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Northern territory police are investigating the death in custody of an aboriginal man at royal Darwin hospital over the weekend.

Transcript

00:00details about this incident are fairly thin for the moment but we do know that this 68 year old

00:06man was from a remote community in the northern territory's top end he was taken into what's

00:13called protective custody by afp officers at the darwin airport on the 30th of may they say that he

00:21was allegedly uh too drunk to board a flight and he was taken into custody by those police officers

00:27who took him to the palmerston watch house before deciding he needed medical attention he was taken

00:34to the royal darwin hospital and it's on arrival at rdh that police say he had a sudden and serious

00:41medical episode and has been in intensive care at royal darwin hospital since then the 68 year old

00:48man passed away over the weekend on saturday after spending that time in intensive care police say

00:55that his next of kin have been notified and that the northern territory police are conducting an

01:02investigation on behalf of the coroner because this man passed sorry was in custody when he first lost

01:12consciousness all deaths in custody here in the northern territory are subject to a coronial inquest

01:19and so the northern territory coroner will be taking a look at this incident as well

01:24emil this is the second death in custody in the northern territory um in the past couple of weeks

01:29we've had rallies over the weekend and more are planned this week

01:32yeah that's right jemma we saw dozens of people gathering late yesterday in perth at a vigil

01:39uh held in honor of kumanjai white this is a 24 year old walpreet man who died during an attempted

01:46arrest here in alice springs at the end of last month uh by two off-duty police officers at the local

01:53coles supermarket uh kumanjai white has been remembered at these vigils as a happy and much

01:59loved young man a dearly missed member of the yundamu community uh these rallies and vigils as we've said

02:07have been held around the country over the last week as part of what's being called a national week of

02:12action uh and the calls from his family and community uh reverberating across the country at these

02:20rallies uh calling for an independent investigation into his death uh we heard from uh kumanjai white's

02:28grandfather ned jump and jimper hargraves this morning uh he spoke to news breakfast we can take

02:33listen to what he had to say we want you to drop the guns drop it

02:40because if you don't and the way you are talking and where you are asking

02:48us the community say sorry that is not good enough

02:53so a real sense of mistrust between communities and northern territory police we're hearing there

02:59from ned hargraves uh these rallies uh will be will continue throughout the week jemma we're

03:06expecting to see another gathering in adelaide next weekend and of course another vigil here

03:12in ala springs is expected on wednesday morning when members of kumanjai white's family are expected

03:19expected to travel from yundamu here to ala springs

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