Content warning for First Nations readers – the following has the name of a deceased Warlpiri man.
National Justice Project CEO George Newhouse represented the family of Kumanjayi White at the Sydney rally as part of a week of national action. He read out the following statement from the family:
Stand down now!
The family of Kumanjayi White call on the NT Police to stand down the officers involved while the criminal investigation takes place
The family of Kumanjayi White are angry and heartbroken that another young Warlpiri man has had his life taken while in police custody. Kumanjayi White was a 24-year-old Warlpiri man from Yuendumu who was killed in custody in Alice Springs Coles last week. He is deeply loved and missed by his family and his people.
The family demands answers. Right now the Northern Territory Police are undertaking a criminal investigation into Kumanjayi White’s death to, in their own words, “determine whether any criminality was involved”. The family has called for these investigations to be independent, but this demand has been unjustly rejected by the Northern Territory Chief Minister who continues to oversee a racist agenda against the NT’s Indigenous peoples.
Despite these setbacks, the family continues to fight. Now that a criminal investigation is underway, the family call on the NT police officers involved to be stood down immediately. This should be an obvious action in any criminal inquiry. Stand down now!
The family want to thank the Central Land Council for their leadership in pushing forward the call for an independent investigation. We do not trust the NT police and support the demand of the CLC that the Federal government withhold funding from the NT government until it agrees to establish an independent body to examine police misconduct.
This week we have seen thousands of people from around the country stand up in support of Warlpiri. And this weekend we will see thousands more people raising their voices and their fists. Their message is clear: We stand with Warlpiri! No more deaths in custody! Stop the injustice! We have seen politicians, public figures and everyday people stand with the family and their demands. We have heard loud and clear that there will be no silence and no rest while we stand together in this fight for justice.
The family of Kumanjayi White are determined, and we will continue raising our demands until we are listened to:
- Police involved in Kumanjayi’s death must be stood down while the investigation proceeds.
- The investigation into Kumanjayi White’s death must be taken over by a body independent of the NT police force.
- All relevant CCTV and body cam footage of events prior to and during Kumanjayi’s time in custody must be released to the family as soon as possible pending all criminal investigations.
- Police must immediately cease making public statements that allege criminality and denigrate the character of Kumanjayi and apologise for all statements made to date.
Media Coverage
- ‘Heartbroken’: Family of Indigenous man killed in custody plea for answers
National Indigenous Times, 9 June 2025
