A 24-year-old disabled Aboriginal man has died after being restrained by police inside a Coles supermarket in Mparntwe (Alice Springs).
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon after store staff reported the man allegedly placing food items in his clothing.
According to Northern Territory Police, officers restrained the man inside the store.
Witnesses say he stopped breathing while still on the ground. Despite emergency efforts from paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
NT Police have confirmed that body-worn camera footage has been secured and that the matter is now being investigated by the Northern Territory Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
A coronial inquest has also been announced.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls condemned the police response.
“He was disabled and on the NDIS. He was hungry. He was under state guardianship - under the care and protection of the Minister. And it was the state that killed him,” said Debbie Kilroy, a leading prison abolition advocate with the National Network.
“This was a lethal police intervention - one that reflects the everyday brutality of policing in this country.”
The statement also reflected on the fact the young man’s death occurred during National Reconciliation Week, and coincides with the anniversary of George Floyd Jr.’s death in the United States.
“We are horrified, but not surprised,” said Tabitha Lean, a network spokesperson and campaigner against the incarceration of First Nations women.
“This tragedy exposes the violence of the guardianship system.”
Both Kilroy and Lean are currently in Mparntwe supporting the community and calling for immediate and systemic change, including independent investigationi free from police involvement and investment in community-controlled and culturally safe support systems
