Latest news with #Warlpiri
SBS Australia
20 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'We can't walk in the street.' A grieving grandfather is calling for justice and answers
Warning: this article contains the names of First Nations people who have died and distressing content. Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, the grandfather of a 24-year-old man who passed away in Northern Territory police custody, has told Living Black his community won't feel safe in public until they get justice. Kumanjayi White , a Warlpiri man with disabilities, passed after being restrained by police at the Coles supermarket in Alice Springs in May. 'When I heard, I didn't believe, 'What are you talking about?' 'What are you trying to say?' 'What are you telling me? Tell me,'" Uncle Ned explains to Living Black. 'I didn't wanna talk to anyone at that very moment because I was very, very angry and frustrated. Kumanjayi White's passing sent shockwaves around the country, sparking series of vigils and thrust the issue of Indigenous deaths in custody back into the national spotlight. Uncle Ned says people claiming to have witnessed the incident have come forward. 'They said that they saw everything. The police was on top of my jaja (grandson) and their knee on his neck and on his back,' Uncle Ned says. 'And face down on the ground, and had him, he couldn't breathe.' Yuendumu hurting Uncle Ned, a respected Warlpiri Elder from Yuendumu, has become a voice for a community that has seen two of its young men pass in police custody since 2019. Both were Uncle Ned's grandsons. After Constable Zachery Rolfe shot Kumanjayi Walker dead, the official explanation took six years. 'I found that Mr Rolfe was racist and that he worked in, and was the beneficiary of, an organisation with hallmarks of institutional racism,' the coroner said. The community is angry and hurting and struggling to come to terms with yet another fight for answers about how their relative passed. 'They're not giving us the footage of the CCTV ... why is that?' Uncle Ned asks. 'We have the right, as the family, we have the right to see it.' The coronial inquest into Kumanjayi White's passing has been paused while the major crime division of NT Police investigates but the family's lawyer is calling for an independent investigator take over. The family's lawyer, George Newhouse from the National Justice Project, says they're being kept in the dark. 'First Nations people have a terrible relationship with the NT Police," he says. "And so, at one level, it's vital that an independent body or an independent investigator take over to give them some faith in the system.' Uncle Ned says he believes the officers involved should be stood down, pending an independent investigation. 'What? You just, you just kill a bloke and just walk away from it? Just like nothing happens? That is disgusting!" he said. The hurt and anger has distilled into a national demand for justice and Uncle Ned says he will not stop until the family's demands are met. Uncle Ned wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the 18th anniversary of the NT Intervention to make the point that federal leaders have the power to step in. He says, if leaders in Canberra can intervene to take away Indigenous people's rights, they can also act to protect them. 'We want the Prime Minister to say something, to stop this madness. It is disgrace to us,' Uncle Ned says. 'We can't live or walk in the street. "We feel uncomfortable living in our own community, we cannot live like this in our own country.' Doubly disadvantaged Kumanjayi White had a cognitive disability and was living in Alice Springs because he needed access to a level of care not available on Country in Yuendumu. The family wants to know how a young man with a disability and on a guardianship order came into contact with the criminal justice system again and again during his young life – including with time in jail on remand. When the coronial inquest resumes, it will consider the broader circumstances that led to Kumanjayi White's passing. First People's Disability Network chief executive Damian Griffis says Kumanjayi White's passing highlights that, if you are an Aboriginal person living with a disability, you are very likely to experience both racial discrimination and disability prejudice. 'And we need to change attitude dramatically,' Mr Griffis says. 'Police need to recognise that some people are very vulnerable. "Some people may have difficulty understanding instruction because of their nature of their disability – that's not their fault; that's not their failing. "It's on everyone else to accommodate people with disability.' He says that often disability rights is framed as the last bastion of human rights. 'If we want to talk about people that are more vulnerable, extremely vulnerable to abuse and neglect, for example, it'd be pretty uncommon for an Australian with disability and for also First Nations people with disability not to have experienced abuse or neglect or some form of interaction with police that is gonna be very adverse," Mr Griffis said. Shameful record That adversity permeates jurisdictions around the country. There have been a staggering 598 deaths of First Nations people in custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991. Thirteen First Nations people have died in custody so far this year, according to the Institute of Criminology. A 68-year-old NT man died in Royal Darwin Hospital two weeks after Kumanjayi White. He was held down in the prone position by five specialist prison guards in Long Bay prison in NSW. They kneeled on his back as he died, despite Mr Dungay's repeated cries that he couldn't breathe. No one was charged. In Western Australia in 2008, Ngaanyatjarra Elder Mr Ward spent four hours in a prisoner transport van being taken from Laverton to Kalgoorlie. It was 42 degrees and the WA coroner said Mr Ward was effectively 'cooked' to death. Unfinished business Australian Human Rights Commission President Hugh de Krester told Living Black that, 34 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Indigenous people are still dying in custody because a key recommendation has been ignored. 'The absolute key to reducing Aboriginal deaths in custody is reducing the over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,' he said. 'We have the Closing the Gap commitments, we have governments around the country saying 'we're committed to this' but the rates are going in the wrong direction.' He told Living Black that all governments, state, territory and federal, need to do more to meet their human rights obligations. 'The number one thing that governments need to do to stop that over imprisonment, is to pursue fair, effective criminal justice policies that address the reasons that people are coming into contact with police, coming into contact with the criminal justice system in the first place," Mr de Krester said. 'Those reasons are related to things like education, to healthcare, to supporting communities, to disability supports. "Until we get that right, we'll continue to see over imprisonment.' Education and healthcare Damian Griffis says there are some tough lessons that all levels of government should learn from Kumanjayi White's passing. 'There's still a very serious lack of fair and equitable access to the NDIS for our people with disability, and particularly those mob who are in regional or remote parts of the country," he said. 'The fact that he had to live off Country is a failure of the service system; a failure of the system to recognise that everyone should be entitled to live on Country and it's on the system to build the support so people can stay on Country. 'The fact that he was off Country a long way away from home, made him very vulnerable and that's another element of this that's wrong and very sad.' Living Black airs Mondays at 8.30pm on NITV, replays on Tuesday 10.35pm on SBS and is available on SBS On Demand.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
How inquest into fatal police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker lays a path for Warlpiri control
Sitting around the campfire in the red dust of Yuendumu, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves tells me stories of the ancient Warlpiri customs that created clear lines of authority, and then, about his old people who were forced to work on pastoral stations for meagre rations. In the shadow of the protection era (1890s-1950s), Warlpiri people lived as wards of the state — bound by invisible chains, forbidden to roam their homelands, and silenced from speaking their language. Generations have fought to reclaim control, and the community continues to demand the return of autonomy — something they say could prevent deaths in custody. "We want to control our business," Ned said. "We don't want Kardiya (non-Indigenous people) to come and tell us what to do; that's got to stop." It is the day after Coroner Elisabeth Armitage visited the community — three hours north-west of Alice Springs — to deliver her findings on the 2019 police shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker. In the glow of the central desert community's live music stage, Ned's face grows serious as a sad and soulful reggae song hums. He shares with me that as the six-year fight for justice for Walker draws to a close, he must wake up tomorrow and meet with lawyers for a new fight. His jaja (grandson), Kumanjayi White, another Warlpiri man who lived with cognitive disabilities, died while being apprehended by plain-clothed police on the floor of the confectionery aisle at the Alice Springs Coles in May. Exhausted does not begin to describe how Ned and his family are feeling, but they are also frustrated. Frustrated that his vision, resilience, and deep understanding of what is best for Yapa (his people) has been ignored for decades. The Walker Inquest found the constable who shot Walker in Yuendumu in 2019 and was acquitted of all charges, Zachary Rolfe, held racist views. Walker's death "was avoidable", it found, and "a stark example of officer-induced jeopardy." Judge Elisabeth Armitage identified "clear evidence of entrenched, systemic and structural racism" within the institution Rolfe worked for — the NT Police. This is not something you can fix overnight with the rollout of an anti-racism plan. Systemic change can take generations. Kumanjayi Walker's cousin, Samara Fernandez-Brown, says asking the NT Police to become "safe" for Aboriginal people is unsustainable. "It's a band-aid solution, so I'd like to see a structure that replaces that altogether," Ms Fernandez-Brown said in Yuendumu last week. The Walker findings backed Aboriginal-led solutions and a return to Warlpiri controlling their own affairs. Judge Armitage called for the development of a 10-year youth strategy for Yuendumu, the expansion of night patrol services, a comprehensive review of available youth programs — including on-country rehabilitation and diversion options — and the potential establishment of a local leadership group to guide these efforts. "The solutions have already existed prior to the [2007 federal government] intervention," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. "We're hoping that these recommendations around community authority and a leadership group allow us to get back to that spot." In the wake of these findings, there is a unique opportunity for organisations and agencies to recognise Warlpiri leadership and build genuine partnerships, a move Ms Fernandez-Brown says will "prevent deaths in custody." The inquest into Kumanjayi Walker's death dug deep into a long history of colonial violence and the wounds it left behind. From the 1920s, hordes of gold prospectors and pastoralists moved to Warlpiri Country, putting strain on the only permanent water source, Pikilyi. Judge Armitage found that Warlpiri people were denied access to water and forced to work in conditions resembling slavery, with reports of people being "tied up and flogged," and women and girls raped and abducted. In 1928, the Coniston Massacre saw dozens, possibly hundreds, of Warlpiri, Anmatyerre, and Kaytetye people killed in state-sanctioned reprisals after the death of a dingo trapper. Led by a former WWI veteran turned NT police constable, the attacks went unpunished, with no convictions for any of the killings. The massacre lives on in Warlpiri memory, passed down through generations. Yuendumu became a rations depot in 1946 with the stated aim to "control the shift of Aborigines (sic) to towns", and some children were stolen from the community and institutionalised in hopes they would "integrate" into white society. Finally, in the 1970s, the idea returned that Warlpiri could lead. Federal government policies enabled community governance structures grounded in Warlpiri customary decision-making until the mid 90s, when Yuendumu had at least 13 community-controlled organisations. Judge Armitage heard evidence that this period was one of "vibrant … intercultural activity, involving Warlpiri and Western attitudes and cultural practices being worked into new and productive engagements, in the context of mutual respect relationships." She found that during the 90s, elders in Yuendumu had strong lines of communication with police. But she documented how the so-called "Intervention" systematically undermined and dismantled Warlpiri authority from 2007 onwards. It imposed compulsory income management, compulsory leasing of Aboriginal land, dispossessed traditional owners of recognition and authority, levied financial penalties for failure to comply with the Community Development Program, boosted police numbers, and brought powers allowing police to enter houses without a warrant. Community government councils were abolished by the NT government and amalgamated into eight centralised shires. Judge Armitage found this undercut Warlpiri authority and further diminished job opportunities. Housing was used as a practical example: instead of local workers fixing issues like a blocked toilet immediately, the centralised shire system left tenants waiting three to four months for minor repairs. The federal government's Intervention was meant to last for five years, but blew out another decade under the "Stronger Futures" legislation introduced in 2012. Judge Armitage heard evidence from associate professor Melinda Hinkson that, without consultation, the intervention's core measures snatched authority from traditional owners and were an increase in "the punitive governance and policing of the Warlpiri community by external authorities and officials". Kumanjayi Walker's family would have liked stronger recommendations about police accountability, but the question remains, what worth are such suggestions when the government is in no way legally obliged to implement them? Barrister John Lawrence SC, who didn't work on Kumanjayi Walker's case but represented families in many coronial inquests into Black deaths in custody and the royal commission into NT youth detention, said the inquest's value was in providing a comprehensive historical analysis of racism in the NT Police. "Its findings on that are unequivocal and damning: a force riddled with systemic racism which allowed a totally inappropriate man (Rolfe) into the force and who then permitted him and others to, it seems, have a ball at the expense of Aboriginal people," he said. "He should have been fired way before the killing incident." Rolfe has rejected the coroner's findings and says his actions were "never about race". He is considering appealing the inquest's findings. Judge Armitage called the racism within the NT Police "grotesque". Hearing this was validating for Kumanjayi Walker's family, but without police accountability reforms, Yuendumu is focusing on alternate ways they can avoid it happening again. Families see a clear path toward greater autonomy and believe that with increased resources and support, Yuendumu can shape a future where youth are no longer caught in the justice system, and where the excessive use of force by police against Aboriginal people is truly a thing of the past. "Our people have the solutions; we need to take back our rights to run our community and to have peace," Ned said. "If I could have one (recommendation implemented) today, it would be an independent ombudsman for NT police complaints, but we want investment in community and divestment from police," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. "We want that to be centred around Warlpiri and mob, by doing that it's going to prevent deaths in custody because there will be programs that offer alternative pathways." Our communities don't need saving. Our communities don't need saviours … and that is what Judge Elisabeth Armitage's 683-page report confirms.
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- The Guardian
For the remote community of Yuendumu, there's no justice until its people stop dying
As the sun starts to fall over Yuendumu, boys descend on the football oval. They take miraculous shots at goal from the boundary, puffs of orange dust sent into the air with every kick. Earlier that day, with the desert sun still high in a cloudless sky, the Northern Territory coroner, Elisabeth Armitage, spoke in the centre of a semi-circle of plastic chairs about another Warlpiri boy, Kumanjayi Walker. She spoke of how his struggles in childhood led to trouble as a young man, trouble that led constable Zachary Rolfe, who knew none of the hardship of Walker, but had been shaped by his experiences nonetheless, to Yuendumu. 'The life experiences of Mr Rolfe are far removed from those of Kumanjayi Walker, the young man he killed during the ill-fated arrest,' Armitage said on Monday. 'That is part of the reason why neither understood why or how the other would react that day.' From the middle of the local oval you can see the red house, house 511, where Walker was shot three times by then-NT Police constable Zachary Rolfe in November 2019. Rolfe was found not guilty in March 2022 of charges of murder and manslaughter relating to Walker's death. Yuendumu is processing the coroner's 683-page findings from the inquest into Walker's death, while dealing with the death in custody of another of its young men, Walker's cousin, Kumanjayi White. White, 24, lost consciousness in the Coles supermarket in Alice Springs, surrounded by juice and chocolates, after off-duty police officers restrained him on the ground. His death is being investigated by NT police, despite calls from his family and the federal Indigenous affairs minister for an independent inquiry. Like Walker, who Armitage found was disabled, White too had disabilities and was an NDIS recipient. The remote community is trying to stay strong, buoyed up by the future – and the possibility, as outlined in Armitage's recommendations – of moving closer to local autonomy, such as community leaders say existed before the Howard government's 2007 intervention. 'The coroner talked about the racists in the Northern Territory … she has told the truth,' Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, senior Warlpiri elder and the grandfather of White, said. 'In future, when we work with the police, it needs to be two ways of working and understanding. 'The First Nations, Indigenous people, we have the first solution. We need to take back our rights, our rights to run the community and to have peace … and run business … ourselves.' Sitting to Hargraves' right as he spoke to visiting reporters was Samara Fernandez-Brown, Walker's cousin. While the pair spoke briefly on the day the findings were handed down, they spoke at greater length the next day. 'We are in a really interesting position now, where as a community we can move towards the future. And like Ned was saying, it's now our opportunity to take back control,' Fernandez-Brown said on Tuesday. 'There were recommendations around reforming authority within Yuendumu that existed prior to the intervention that stripped our community of its power. 'We look forward to having those conversations and seeing … how community is going to thrive under control of Warlpiri again and that's something that we really, really look forward to.' The pair spoke in the grounds of PAW Media, a community organisation. Shortly before they started, local kids filled the air with keyboards and drumming, jams starting again and again in the music room underneath the large antenna in the centre of town. 'No music for a little,' Hargraves shouts over his shoulder before the press conference, which he started in Warlpiri. 'We'll only be really quick. You can rip the guts out of it later.' As they spoke, loud bangs echoed through the town. It was one week after Territory Day, the only day Territorians can buy fireworks, and some that were left over were being ignited. There were also events for Naidoc week, which fell during school holidays this year. Local girls showed off new fake nails from a hair and beauty clinic that had been held in town, and makeshift games of basketball and cricket went on outside the local stadium. The Warlukurlunga Gallery, on the eastern edge of town, teamed with women painting. Others came and went, checking on their work, and showing it off, or proudly pointing out the canvases of their daughters. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Armitage recommended creating a 10-year plan for youth in Yuendumu; an expanded night patrol in the remote community; and a review of the availability of youth services, including the provision of on-country rehabilitation and diversion services. She recommended that the Northern Territory government consult with the Yuendumu community to determine whether there is broad support for the establishment of a single, elected, remunerated, leadership group in Yuendumu as a means of providing community control over the provision of services. The model was proposed by the Parumpurru committee, made up of Yuendumu residents, who were represented at the inquest. If the creation of a leadership group was supported by the community, then Armitage recommended that the NT government implement it, including by providing governance training and support, and consider specific requirements for good governance. It should also work with the group's elected leadership to co-design its terms of reference. The NT's Country Liberal party, which won government last year after a campaign marked by promises to crack down on crime, said it 'welcomes the conclusion of this lengthy process, which has taken a significant toll on the community and the NT Police Force'. 'The government will now take the time to consider the findings and recommendations, noting that much has changed over the last six years,' a government spokesperson said. Deep in the coronial findings were also several matters that helped the family reckon with the shooting that night. This included a finding from Armitage that she was 'firmly satisfied that the account given by Mr Rolfe about Kumanjayi's hand being on his Glock cannot be accepted'. This was the account Rolfe had given for the first time during his murder trial, and had again given evidence about during the inquest, in which he alleged Walker had touched his gun shortly before he fired it. The findings that Rolfe was racist, and not a 'bad apple', but rather part of an organisation infected with institutional racism, also gave the family some comfort, even if Armitage could not clearly say Walker died because of this racism. Armitage noted, with some irony, that after Rolfe resisted racism being part of the inquest for two years, he then gave evidence which uncovered 'grotesque' racist awards within the force's tactical officers. Rolfe, for his part, released a statement via his lawyer, Luke Officer, saying he 'does not accept many of the findings' and suggesting the NT supreme court should consider the proper scope of inquests, accusing the coroner of going beyond her remit. He specifically rejected her finding that he was racist, saying: 'Insofar as some may hold a view to the contrary, this was never about race'. Counsel for the NT Police also argued against the breadth of the inquiry, writing in their final submission that the coroner did not have powers to conduct 'a roving royal commission'. Armitage wrote that the Coroners Act required her to make recommendations to prevent future deaths in similar circumstances, and granted a 'broad discretion as to the matters to be considered'. The family were concerned, however, that Armitage did not make specific recommendations to reform police accountability, given her findings about Rolfe's previous uses of force. She was satisfied that on at least five occasions, he used a level of force that was unnecessary, had concerns about the force used on a further two occasions, and found there were other instances where the use of force was avoidable. 'There were instances where Mr Rolfe used force without proper regard for the risk of injury to persons, all of whom were Aboriginal boys or men, and significant injuries were caused to suspects because of his use of force,' Armitage found. More than three years ago, when Hargraves spoke outside the tall white walls of the NT supreme court in Darwin, after Rolfe's acquittal, he shouted: 'When are we going to get justice? When?' On Tuesday, he said it was hard to know if he was any closer to justice. 'We were coming that close to end it,' he said. 'But again, something happens. Another one gets killed.' In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support. Other international helplines can be found at
SBS Australia
09-07-2025
- SBS Australia
"Cease fire": Warlpiri Elder's plea in the wake of Kumanjayi Walker coronial inquest
Warning: this article includes distressing and violent content and the name of Aboriginal people who have passed. Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, senior Warlpiri Elder from Yuendumu, has called on the Northern Territory police for a ceasefire. On Monday Coroner Elisabeth Armitage released her long-awaited report into the death of Kumanjayi Walker. Kumanjayi Walker, a 19-year-old Walpiri-Luritja man was shot three times and killed by then NT police constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu on November 9, 2019. Ms Armitage made 32 recommendations, including that NT Police strengthen their anti-racism strategy and make it public. In her report, Ms Armitage said she had found Mr Rolfe was racist and she could not exclude the possibility his attitudes played an integral part in the 19-year-old's death. Samara Fernandez-Brown and Uncle Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves. Speaking the day after the coroner released her report, Uncle Ned said the Warlpiri people of Yuendumu need the truth to be found and told. "We need to let the world know what has been happening to us," he said. "The coroner talked about the racists in the Northern Territory today – she has told the truth. "In future when we work with the police, it needs to be two ways of working and understanding. "The First Nations, Indigenous people, we have the first solution and we need to take back our rights, our rights to run the community and to have peace." Broken hearts Samara Fernandez-Brown, Kumanjayi Walker's cousin, said the coronial inquest, which began in September 2022 and experienced several delays, had been a huge journey for the family. "We've heard things throughout the inquest that have broken our hearts but, when we heard the coroner say that there was structural and entrenched racism in the NT police, we felt validated as a family, because to us, we felt like racism killed Kumanjayi," she said. Ms Fernandez-Brown said she was disappointed that the recommendations about police accountability weren't stronger. "We heard countless evidence about how the police have been racist, how they have been violent, and how they use too much force when it comes to our people," she said. "So that was disappointing but, in saying that, hearing some of the things around the coroner finding that Kumanjayi didn't reach for Rolfe's gun was really important to us as a family, because we felt like that was a lie. "We also heard that the coroner said that the entry into my grandmother and Kumanjayi's grandmother's house was unlawful – they did not get permission to enter." The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) welcomed the Coroner's recommendations to reform the NT police complaints system, but said they were disappointed the Coroner did not recommend an independent oversight body. "We stand with Kumanjayi Walker's family, community, and Yuendumu in their fight for truth and justice, and support the family's calls for police accountability," NAAJA chairperson Theresa Roe said. "Now is the time to stop, talk and focus on a better way forward." Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss says the coronial findings are a painful, but powerful, reminder of the urgent need for sweeping reform across police and justice systems to fully address ongoing injustices against First Peoples. 'This has been a slow, painful six years towards something that will never deliver complete justice for Kumanjayi Walker or the Yuendumu community,' Commissioner Kiss said. 'My heart continues to break for them, and all First Peoples families suffering over the national shame which is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody. "As the coroner said emphatically, this death should not have happened." Commissioner Kiss said Kumanjayi was a loving and much-loved young man, who was failed by the justice system even before the night of his death. "His history of trauma and intellectual disability were not adequately addressed during his time in detention," she said. 'Racism is running rife in our institutions, and it lies at the heart of these shocking injustices, but today marks a powerful moment. "These findings, delivered on the lands of Yuendumu people – Kumanjayi Walker's people – not only outline who, and what, is to blame, but offer a clear pathway for reform. 'Like the coroner, I sincerely hope these findings will help prevent further tragedies.' Since the start of 2025, there have been 13 Aboriginal deaths in custody. This includes the May death of another young Walpiri man, Kumanjayi White, who passed after being restrained by police at an Alice Springs supermarket and was Uncle Ned's grandson. "Another one gets killed. This is my family, so I've got a I've got to bear with that, so it's not good," Uncle Ned said. "I do have a message ... cease fire." The Warlpiri community and Justice For Walker campaign have been calling for police to stop carrying guns when they go to Yuendumu, with Uncle Ned saying he was disappointed that Acting NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole had not honoured his word and stayed in community for a discussion after the coroner delivered her findings. Ms Fernandez-Brown said she drew hope from the coroner's recommendation to return control back to the Yuendumu community, which had been taken as part of the NT Intervention in 2007. "I wouldn't necessarily hold my breath and hope for the Northern Territory police to change," she said. "I'd like to see structural change, but perhaps moving away from police and moving around community based solutions and accountability and structures that are safe. "At the moment, the Northern Territory is inherently unsafe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. "Asking the Northern Territory police to become safe is unsustainable and it's a band aid solution, so I'd like to see a structure that replaces that altogether."
The Advertiser
08-07-2025
- The Advertiser
Family 'validated' over coroner's police racism finding
A community says it has "had enough" of police after a coronial inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager renewed allegations of racism. Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe in the community of Yuendumu in 2019. In handing down her findings into the 19-year-old's death, coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she found Mr Rolfe to be racist and the Northern Territory Police Force to have "the hallmarks of institutionalised racism". Mr Rolfe maintained in a statement issued by his lawyer on Tuesday that it "was never about race". Mr Walker's family welcomed the coroner's findings. "When we heard the coroner say there was structural and entrenched racism in the NT Police Force, we felt validated as a family," Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said in Yuendumu on Tuesday Ms Fernandez-Brown said she was grateful the coroner's findings were handed down in the community, 300km from Alice Springs, on Monday. But she said recommendations around police accountability in the NT were not strong enough. "We heard countless evidence about how the police have been racist, how they have been violent and how they have used too much force when it comes to our people," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. The coroner's findings were postponed after the death of another Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in Alice Springs in May. Mr White's grandfather, senior Yuendumu Elder Ned Hargraves, said something must be done. "We've had enough of these police," he said. "They are doing the biggest damage to our community ... they have no shame whatsoever." NT Police Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said it was clear racism existed in the force. "It is a truth that we must face. What was tolerated in the past will no longer be acceptable," he said in Alice Springs. Mr Dole said a decision to leave Yuendumu shortly after the findings were handed down was made after discussions with Elders. His comments come after Mr Hargraves expressed his disappointment the commissioner left the community without speaking with him. "I apologise that he feels that way," Mr Dole said. "I did have consultations with several of the Elders and we thought it best that meeting take place in future days." Mr Hargraves said he would be strongly against the commissioner returning to Yuendumu. "I won't talk to him again ... I don't want to," he said. The force's cultural reform executive director Leanne Liddle said NT Police was working to rebuild trust through an anti-racism strategy. Ms Fernandez-Brown said while she would like to remain optimistic about structural change, she wouldn't "hold my breath" for that to come from within the NT police force. "Asking the Northern Territory police force to become safe is unsustainable and a band-aid solution," she said. "I'd like to see a structure that replaces that altogether." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 A community says it has "had enough" of police after a coronial inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager renewed allegations of racism. Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe in the community of Yuendumu in 2019. In handing down her findings into the 19-year-old's death, coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she found Mr Rolfe to be racist and the Northern Territory Police Force to have "the hallmarks of institutionalised racism". Mr Rolfe maintained in a statement issued by his lawyer on Tuesday that it "was never about race". Mr Walker's family welcomed the coroner's findings. "When we heard the coroner say there was structural and entrenched racism in the NT Police Force, we felt validated as a family," Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said in Yuendumu on Tuesday Ms Fernandez-Brown said she was grateful the coroner's findings were handed down in the community, 300km from Alice Springs, on Monday. But she said recommendations around police accountability in the NT were not strong enough. "We heard countless evidence about how the police have been racist, how they have been violent and how they have used too much force when it comes to our people," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. The coroner's findings were postponed after the death of another Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in Alice Springs in May. Mr White's grandfather, senior Yuendumu Elder Ned Hargraves, said something must be done. "We've had enough of these police," he said. "They are doing the biggest damage to our community ... they have no shame whatsoever." NT Police Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said it was clear racism existed in the force. "It is a truth that we must face. What was tolerated in the past will no longer be acceptable," he said in Alice Springs. Mr Dole said a decision to leave Yuendumu shortly after the findings were handed down was made after discussions with Elders. His comments come after Mr Hargraves expressed his disappointment the commissioner left the community without speaking with him. "I apologise that he feels that way," Mr Dole said. "I did have consultations with several of the Elders and we thought it best that meeting take place in future days." Mr Hargraves said he would be strongly against the commissioner returning to Yuendumu. "I won't talk to him again ... I don't want to," he said. The force's cultural reform executive director Leanne Liddle said NT Police was working to rebuild trust through an anti-racism strategy. Ms Fernandez-Brown said while she would like to remain optimistic about structural change, she wouldn't "hold my breath" for that to come from within the NT police force. "Asking the Northern Territory police force to become safe is unsustainable and a band-aid solution," she said. "I'd like to see a structure that replaces that altogether." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 A community says it has "had enough" of police after a coronial inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager renewed allegations of racism. Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe in the community of Yuendumu in 2019. In handing down her findings into the 19-year-old's death, coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she found Mr Rolfe to be racist and the Northern Territory Police Force to have "the hallmarks of institutionalised racism". Mr Rolfe maintained in a statement issued by his lawyer on Tuesday that it "was never about race". Mr Walker's family welcomed the coroner's findings. "When we heard the coroner say there was structural and entrenched racism in the NT Police Force, we felt validated as a family," Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said in Yuendumu on Tuesday Ms Fernandez-Brown said she was grateful the coroner's findings were handed down in the community, 300km from Alice Springs, on Monday. But she said recommendations around police accountability in the NT were not strong enough. "We heard countless evidence about how the police have been racist, how they have been violent and how they have used too much force when it comes to our people," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. The coroner's findings were postponed after the death of another Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in Alice Springs in May. Mr White's grandfather, senior Yuendumu Elder Ned Hargraves, said something must be done. "We've had enough of these police," he said. "They are doing the biggest damage to our community ... they have no shame whatsoever." NT Police Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said it was clear racism existed in the force. "It is a truth that we must face. What was tolerated in the past will no longer be acceptable," he said in Alice Springs. Mr Dole said a decision to leave Yuendumu shortly after the findings were handed down was made after discussions with Elders. His comments come after Mr Hargraves expressed his disappointment the commissioner left the community without speaking with him. "I apologise that he feels that way," Mr Dole said. "I did have consultations with several of the Elders and we thought it best that meeting take place in future days." Mr Hargraves said he would be strongly against the commissioner returning to Yuendumu. "I won't talk to him again ... I don't want to," he said. The force's cultural reform executive director Leanne Liddle said NT Police was working to rebuild trust through an anti-racism strategy. Ms Fernandez-Brown said while she would like to remain optimistic about structural change, she wouldn't "hold my breath" for that to come from within the NT police force. "Asking the Northern Territory police force to become safe is unsustainable and a band-aid solution," she said. "I'd like to see a structure that replaces that altogether." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 A community says it has "had enough" of police after a coronial inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager renewed allegations of racism. Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe in the community of Yuendumu in 2019. In handing down her findings into the 19-year-old's death, coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she found Mr Rolfe to be racist and the Northern Territory Police Force to have "the hallmarks of institutionalised racism". Mr Rolfe maintained in a statement issued by his lawyer on Tuesday that it "was never about race". Mr Walker's family welcomed the coroner's findings. "When we heard the coroner say there was structural and entrenched racism in the NT Police Force, we felt validated as a family," Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said in Yuendumu on Tuesday Ms Fernandez-Brown said she was grateful the coroner's findings were handed down in the community, 300km from Alice Springs, on Monday. But she said recommendations around police accountability in the NT were not strong enough. "We heard countless evidence about how the police have been racist, how they have been violent and how they have used too much force when it comes to our people," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. The coroner's findings were postponed after the death of another Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody in Alice Springs in May. Mr White's grandfather, senior Yuendumu Elder Ned Hargraves, said something must be done. "We've had enough of these police," he said. "They are doing the biggest damage to our community ... they have no shame whatsoever." NT Police Acting Commissioner Martin Dole said it was clear racism existed in the force. "It is a truth that we must face. What was tolerated in the past will no longer be acceptable," he said in Alice Springs. Mr Dole said a decision to leave Yuendumu shortly after the findings were handed down was made after discussions with Elders. His comments come after Mr Hargraves expressed his disappointment the commissioner left the community without speaking with him. "I apologise that he feels that way," Mr Dole said. "I did have consultations with several of the Elders and we thought it best that meeting take place in future days." Mr Hargraves said he would be strongly against the commissioner returning to Yuendumu. "I won't talk to him again ... I don't want to," he said. The force's cultural reform executive director Leanne Liddle said NT Police was working to rebuild trust through an anti-racism strategy. Ms Fernandez-Brown said while she would like to remain optimistic about structural change, she wouldn't "hold my breath" for that to come from within the NT police force. "Asking the Northern Territory police force to become safe is unsustainable and a band-aid solution," she said. "I'd like to see a structure that replaces that altogether." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
