The family of a young Aboriginal man who died after being restrained by police in an Alice Springs supermarket has launched legal action after the officers involved were not prosecuted.
Kumanjayi White, 24, died in the Coles supermarket in the Northern Territory city on 27 May 2025 after two plainclothes police officers held him down in the confectionary aisle, sparking national outrage and rallies calling for an independent investigation.
Legal challenge over lack of reasons
His family were told on the eve of the first anniversary of White's death that no charges would be laid. On Monday, the family confirmed that they had launched legal action in the NT supreme court seeking answers over the decision.
They were entitled to know the reasons under the Northern Territory Victims of Crime Charter and ask for a reconsideration of the case, the family's lawyer, George Newhouse, said. “They can't do that because they've never been given reasons, and they don't know who made the decision,” the National Justice Project chief executive said.
In May, the NT director of public prosecutions said no charges would be laid due to there being “no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution”.
Family demands transparency
NT police earlier rejected calls for an independent inquiry. They also refused to stand the officers down or release CCTV footage of the incident, as demanded by White's family, led by his grandfather, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves.
Hargraves said there had been a lack of transparency from authorities since his grandson's life was “violently cut short”. “We said from day one that we did not trust this process,” he said in a statement. “Nobody will tell us who actually made the decision [that no charges would be laid]. We deserve to know all the information about his death and about the process including who decided that no one should be charged and why.”
Ongoing fight for independent investigation
Hargraves said the family would keep fighting for a “genuinely independent investigation” into the death in custody. White suffered from cognitive impairment and was in care. Police allege he was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard before being held down, an allegation his family denies.
Newhouse said the family was seeking orders from the supreme court to identify who made the decision that no charges would be laid. Once the family knew who made the decision and the basis on which it was made, they would consider whether to challenge the call not to prosecute. “The lack of transparency, the lack of a proper basis for the decision, the lack of a 'sorry', and the anonymity of the decision maker all give rise to serious concerns,” Newhouse said.
An inquest into White's death is scheduled to be held in Alice Springs in April 2027.
