Investigation into Kumanjayi White’s death referred to DPP for possible charges

A brief of evidence into the death of Aboriginal man Kumanjayi White at the hands of Alice Springs police has been provided to the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine if charges should be laid, Police Commissioner Martin Dole has said, while police refused to say how Mr White died despite the autopsy report now completed.

Mr White, who suffered from undisclosed disabilities, lost consciousness while being pinned to the floor of the confectionery aisle of the Coles supermarket in Alice Springs in late May by two plain-clothes police officers, after allegedly stealing items and being involved in an “altercation” with security guards.

Mr Dole told a press conference in Darwin on Monday that NT Police was acutely aware of the responsibility it carried when a death occurs in custody