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WARNING: This article contains distressing content and mentions the name of a deceased Aboriginal individual.
Almost a year has passed since the tragic death of Kumanjayi White, a young disabled Aboriginal man, and an external review examining the police’s use of force during the incident has now concluded. The review was prompted by significant public outcry and demands for accountability.
In May 2025, White, who was just 24, died in an Alice Springs supermarket after being restrained by two plainclothes officers. This incident ignited nationwide protests, with many calling for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Despite these calls, the Northern Territory Police initially declined to suspend the officers involved or to release the CCTV footage that captured the event, a move that was met with frustration by White’s family and supporters, including his grandfather, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves.
To ensure objectivity, an undisclosed police force from another state was tasked with reviewing the investigation into the use of force, which will inform the decision of prosecutors on whether charges should be filed against the officers involved.
NT Police confirmed to AAP that the independent use-of-force review had been completed and received on Wednesday.
“This report is currently being assessed and will form part of an evidentiary brief that is supplied to the Department Public Prosecutions,” the statement said on Friday.
Mr White, who had a mental disability and was in care, died on May 27 in the Alice Springs supermarket’s confectionery aisle.
Police allege he was shoplifting and assaulted a security guard.
NT shadow attorney-general Chansey Paech this week wrote to Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro seeking clarity around the investigation, given the family’s concerns over the time it has taken.
In the federal senate this week, independent Senator Lidia Thorpe said NT Police had made no prosecutions and given no resolution to Mr White’s family.
“It follows a long, long history of violent police investigating themselves,” she said.
In October, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage expressed her condolences to Mr White’s family, saying the inquest was a “slow but careful and considered process”.
“We will continue to work consistently and thoroughly to ensure there is a full investigation and that as much of the truth can be uncovered as possible,” she told an Alice Springs courtroom.
Mr White was originally from the same outback Yuendumu community that lost 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019, when he was shot by then-NT police officer Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest.
Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges over the death in 2022 but Ms Armitage said in her coronial findings she could not exclude the possibility racist attitudes contributed to his decision to pull the trigger.
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