NT police will not lay charges against officers over Kumanjayi White’s death while being restrained at Coles

Northern Territory police will not lay any charges against officers after an Indigenous man died while being restrained in an Alice Springs supermarket in 2025.

Kumanjayi White, a 24‑year‑old Warlpiri man who lived with cognitive disabilities, died on 27 May last year during a confrontation with police in a Coles supermarket.

Police alleged White was shoplifting and said plainclothes officers had stepped in after an altercation with a security guard.

White’s family are suing NT police over the death, alleging that two officers involved acted unlawfully in apprehending him and taking him into custody.

On Tuesday, the NT police commissioner, Martin Dole, announced that the Department of Police Prosecutions declined to lay charges, citing a lack of available evidence after “a thorough investigation”.

“Every effort was made to ensure the investigation was appropriately resourced and conducted in a thorough and fair manner,” Dole said.

“A brief of evidence was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for their opinion. Following consideration of all available evidence, including the independent expert report, the DPP formed the view that there was no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution,” Dole told reporters.

“I acknowledge immediately that this outcome will cause significant distress, pain and anger for Kumanjayi White’s family and for many Aboriginal people across Central Australia and the territory.”

A rally demanding action on deaths in police custody at Sydney Town Hall in June 2025. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

White’s 2025 death sparked outrage and rallies, with calls for accountability and an independent probe. Those calls were echoed by federal MP and member for Lingiari, Marion Scrymgour.

Dole said recent weeks in the Central Australian community were in mourning after the alleged murder of 5-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, with her death prompting an outpouring of anger and grief as well as unrest.