Protests Around The Country Today Demand Inquiry Into Police Shooting Of An Indigenous Teenager
Groups in Darwin, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart and Canberra will meet tomorrow to support the Warlpiri people from Yuendumu, who are pushing for an independent inquiry into the death.
The death of a 19-year-old who was shot by police in a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory is sparking protests across Australia.
Groups in Darwin, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart and Canberra are meeting today to support the Warlpiri people from Yuendumu, who are pushing for an independent inquiry into the death.
In Warlpiri culture they do not say the first name of people who have passed. The family have asked all media to refer to the young man as Kumanjayi Walker. Kumanjayi Walker was at home in Yuendumu, a small Indigenous community almost 300km northwest of Alice Springs, when police came to arrest him for an outstanding warrant, and shot him.
He died after receiving no medical care, as the local health clinic was closed at the time due to what the NT Health Department said were “safety concerns”. Residents waited outside the police station for hours asking for information on Kumanjayi’s condition, but were not told until the next morning that he had died.
I have been told the community is “feeling terrified” and that “the police are not cooperating or telling us anything”.
— Rachael Hocking (@Hocking_Rachael) November 9, 2019
With many questions still unanswered, trust has rapidly deteriorated between the 1,000 residents of the isolated community and the police stationed there. Predictably, some people are blaming the victim, who police say allegedly stabbed an officer in the shoulder with an unknown weapon before being shot.
But others are quick to point out it was only five months ago that a 45-year-old Caucasian man committed a mass shooting in Darwin, murdering four people in an hour-long rampage. He was tasered and arrested while still in possession of the gun.
NT Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Michael White will not confirm if disciplinary action will be taken in relation to the police who shot and killed the young man.
— Rachael Hocking (@Hocking_Rachael) November 10, 2019
People are now calling for justice for Kumanjayi, and have outlined five demands for protestors tomorrow.
They’ve asked for a full independent investigation, for police to leave Yuendumu for one year, for 24-hour medical staff, self-determination, and culturally safe access to medical services, and for alternative approaches to what they consider racist policing.
Protests have been taking place outside Alice Springs police station, and more have been organised across Australia in solidarity. See below for all venues and times.
Darwin: Parliament House, 12pm
Canberra: Parliament House, 1pm
Sydney: Town Hall, 5.30pm
Brisbane: King George Square, 5.30pm
Adelaide: Parliament of South Australia, 5pm
Melbourne: Melbourne’s GPO, 5.30pm
Hobart: Franklin Square, 5.30pm