Hundreds of thousands of people have marched in solidarity with us against the issue of state sanctioned brutality. Systemic change is long overdue.
At least 441 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody since the Royal Commission handed down its finding in 1991. These aren’t just numbers to us: these are our Elders, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children.
No police officer or authority has ever been held criminally responsible. The legal system is so entrenched with systemic racism that Aboriginal people are the most incarcerated people in the world. Yet when one of our loved ones dies in the custody of police officers, prison guards or medical officers, there is no accountability.
The statement comes ahead of protests across the country against deaths in custody. There are rallies planned for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Alice Springs and Lismore on Saturday, and Perth on Thursday.
The statement was made by the families of Noongar woman Cherdeena Wynne (died 2019) and her father Warren John Cooper (died 1999); Noongar boys Christopher Drage and Trisjack Simpson (died 2018); Dunghutti man
David Dungay Jr (died 2015); Gareth Jackson Roe (died 1997); Yamatji woman JC (died 2019, name withheld at her familyâs request); Yamatji woman Ms Dhu (died 2014); Anaiwan and Dunghutti man Nathan Reynolds (died 2018); Stanley Inman (died 2020); Kamilaroi, Gumbaynggirr and Wakka Wakka man Tane Chatfield (died 2017); Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba and Barapa Barapa woman Aunty Tanya Day (died 2017); Birri Gubba woman Aunty Sherry Fisher-Tilberoo (died 2020); and Wiradjuri man Wayne Fella Morrison (died 2016).
Families Of 15 Indigenous People Who Died In Custody Demand To Talk To ScoMo
They say the lack of action from the government, 30 years on from the Royal Commission, can no longer be ignored.
We missed you too. Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, so you always know where to find us.
Fifteen Indigenous families who have lost loved ones in the care of police or the corrections system have joined together to demand that Prime Minister Scott Morrison meet with them on the anniversary of the Royal Commission into deaths in custody.
The families say it’s time the government sat down and had an honest conversation with them about why Blak people continue to die in police custody, and explain why a government inquiry didn’t prevent a further 441 deaths.