A prominent legal service and a senator have joined the community call for answers after the death in custody of a 24-year-old Aboriginal man in Alice Springs.
The man was declared dead in hospital about 70 minutes after he was restrained on the ground following an altercation with security guards at the local Coles about 1.10pm on Tuesday.
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst earlier said the man had allegedly placed items down his clothing, assaulted one of the security guards when he was confronted and became aggressive with the plain clothes officers who were at Coles at the time and responded.
In an update yesterday afternoon, Wurst was able to confirm what transpired after the investigation team reviewed CCTV and body-worn footage from the security guards.
"We can confirm the male was taken to the ground. He remained on the ground for a number of minutes before general duties frontline officers came to the Coles complex and placed handcuffs on the male," he said.
"At about this point, it was determined that the male had lost consciousness.
"The handcuffs were removed, first aid was administered immediately, and that included some CPR."
Paramedics attended and rushed the man to Alice Springs Hospital, where he died.
Wurst said his death was a "tragedy".
The 24-year-old has been identified as a Warlpiri man who had been living in Alice Springs for several years.
He is understood to have been living with a disability, on the NDIS and under state care.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said her thoughts were with the man's family and confirmed she had been briefed by the acting commissioner.
"The incident which occurred in Alice Springs (on Tuesday) is now subject to formal investigation," she said.
Wurst said an autopsy has been conducted, but the cause of death was undetermined.
"The pathologist is required to do further investigation to provide any substantive cause of death to assist the investigation," he said.
The incident is being treated as a death in custody and will be subject to a coronial inquest.
Wurst is leading what he said was a "complex investigation" on behalf of the coroner, which will be subject to oversight and is separate from the inquest.
"I'm comfortable, and I can provide comfort to the Northern Territory community that we will provide an objective, professional and transparent investigation," he said.
Wurst said initial inquiries have found that the man was involved in an altercation with an unknown woman and struck her back near the Commonwealth Bank on Gregory Terrace before the incident at Coles.
Police are appealing for anyone with information about either incident to come forward.
Chair of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency Theresa Roe said the incident was "tragic on all levels".
"We've been very concerned that there would be a potential death in custody due to all the pressures in the justice system," she told 9news.com.au.
"Now it's happened, so it's very distressing."
Roe has seen a spike in demand for her services due to the territory's wave of tough new crime laws, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10, which she said has failed to address underlying issues like poverty, overcrowding and poor education outcomes.
"The high rates of Aboriginal people being locked up, they're in the watch houses now, due to the overcrowding in the prisons, and we're having a lot of young people being locked up," she said.
"You can see what the writing on the wall is. You can see what's going to happen with all these punitive laws.
"Locking more people up is not the solution. There are better ways to deal with people."
Roe accused the NT government of neglecting Indigenous communities and called for Finocchiaro to meet with key stakeholders.
"This government is failing Aboriginal people across the Northern Territory, in our communities. Things are getting worse, they're not getting better," she said.
"We need an intervention on this government because we just can't sit back and just watch more of our people die in custody, get locked up."
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe joined the community call for answers.
"He was hungry, and he needed care," she said.
"For decades, our people have called for an end to this violence — for justice, accountability, and care instead of cruelty. But still, our voices are ignored.
"This is not an isolated tragedy — it's part of a brutal pattern where our people die at the hands of police and in prisons. We won't stop speaking out until it ends."
"We demand justice. We demand answers. And we stand with community in calling for truth, accountability, and change."
For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).
