#deathsincustody — Public Fediverse posts

#Auspol #PolicingInAustralia #DeathsInCustody
the first thing that comes to mind whenever i hear the name #KumanjayiWalker is Senator Briggs’ observation that constable rolfe shot walker “three times in the back, in self-defence”

coroner’s inquests in this country are severely limited in scope by the legislation that governs them, but nonetheless often provide real details about what has happened in the cases they investigate. like parliamentary inquiries, inquest reports often make useful recommendations which are then ignored by the people who could address systemic racism but never actually do.

meanwhile, police in each state continue to kill people in custody, then investigate themselves, prior to long, drawn out go-nowhere-inquests. nothing ever changes. we can tut-tut all we like at trump’s america, but for Indigenous people in this country, there isn’t much difference. then, when someone radical like Lidia Thorpe enters parliament, we shake our heads and criticise her lack of good manners, as if predominantly white australia systemically destroying Blak lives is somehow polite.
We (white people) have replaced traditional systems that were knowable, certain and swift with a lot of talk but no real listening, yet manage to take offence when Indigenous people reject our demands for assimilation. (we might say the policy of assmilation has been abandoned, but that is the biggest, fattest and most blatant of all our lies)

constable rolfe epitomises every bad stereotype of policing, and proves that even if ✌🏻not-all-cops-are-bastards✌🏻 they all have the *potential* to be, and must all therefore be avoided where possible, and at least can never be trusted. rolfe is proof that white australia accepts and protects arseholery.

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“…Mr Rolfe’s lawyer, Luke Officer, told the coroner racism could not be considered under the Coroner’s Act, which only permits her to investigate the cause of death.

“There’s no need to inquire into whether racism played a part … there is no direct evidence of that. It has no relevance to cause of death,” Mr Officer said.”

———

to suggest racism cannot be a cause of death is, well… it’s phukt.

like all discussions of australian racism, this newspaper report is offensive — it can’t not be, because the truth is offensive.

an episode of Redfern Now (on ABC iview) provides an interesting look at deaths in custody. (season 1 episode 6 Pretty Boy Blue). dare i say it, cops are the “human” factor in the police system, and whenever humans are part of a system, system outcomes vary: the outcomes most often reflect the attitudes of the system’s agents.

the primary question is “did this person die of natural causes, or was there human involvement?” in cases of human involvement, who we are as people and what we tolerate as a people is always relevant to cause of death.

sadly, the “let’s get tougher on crime” narrative is still winning elections

https://citynews.com.au/2025/long-wait-over-for-kumanjayi-walker-inquest-findings/

Tonight I learned about the story of Kumanjayi White, who died during police action in Alice Springs.

It's quite disturbing.

#KumanjayiWhite #DeathsInCustody #IndigenousAustralia

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-03/alice-springs-coles-supermarket-kumanjayi-white-death-in-custody/105363560