A 24-year-old Aboriginal man from the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu has died after being restrained by police at a Coles supermarket in Alice Springs.
Northern Territory Police said the incident occurred around 1:10pm on Tuesday, when two plainclothes officers intervened following an altercation. The man had reportedly been placing items inside his clothing when he was approached by security guards.
According to Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst, the man became aggressive and assaulted one of the guards. “The police officers then restrained him on the ground, and he later became unresponsive,” Mr Wurst said at a press conference.
Paramedics from St John Ambulance attended the scene and transported the man to Alice Springs Hospital, where he was declared dead shortly after 2:20pm.
The NT Police Major Crime Section has launched an investigation, and a formal report will be prepared for the coroner.
Police are classifying the incident as a death in custody—a term that includes deaths that occur during detention, in prison or police facilities, or during law enforcement operations such as arrests or pursuits.
This case follows a number of high-profile Indigenous deaths in custody, including the 2019 police shooting of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu. The officer who shot him, Zachary Rolfe, was acquitted of all charges in 2022. The coroner’s findings into Mr Walker’s death are expected to be released on June 10 in Yuendumu.
According to the National Deaths in Custody Program, 30 people have died in custody across Australia so far this year, including eight First Nations individuals. Since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, a total of 593 Indigenous Australians have died in such circumstances.
