Family sues NT government over mother’s death in custody
The family of Kumanjayi Dempsey has filed a Federal Court negligence suit against the Northern Territory government over her death at the Tennant Creek police watch house in December.
The claim alleges police failed in their duty of care during custody and after she collapsed.
The case alleges police treatment “breached the Guiding Principles for Corrections in Australia and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and their duty to exercise reasonable care”. The family is seeking damages and a court declaration that police officers acted negligently.
Documents filed with the Federal Court state police should have responded immediately when Ms Dempsey, 44, who had rheumatic heart disease, collapsed in her cell.
The partner and five children of the Aboriginal woman are suing for negligence, alleging she died because of her treatment when taken into custody, while held in the cells, and after she collapsed.
Key Points
- Family of Kumanjayi Dempsey sues NT government in the Federal Court
- Filing alleges failures in monitoring, medical care, and cell conditions
- CCTV showed Ms Dempsey fell after a 12:34pm check on December 25
- Police claim Ms Dempsey did not disclose rheumatic heart disease in custody
- Family seeks damages and a negligence declaration against police officers
The family is represented by Sydney-based O’Brien Criminal and Legal Solicitors. In statements to the ABC, the firm alleged Ms Dempsey was left unattended for at least 30 minutes before she died, and that she was taken by paramedics from St Johns Ambulance to Tennant Creek Hospital and was already deceased upon arrival.
Ms Dempsey collapsed in the Tennant Creek watch house almost two days after being arrested for aggravated assault on Christmas Day last year, according to the family’s account in court filings.
NT Police previously said CCTV footage showed she fell to the ground just after a routine cell check at 12:34pm on December 25, and that she was discovered during the next check almost half an hour later.
Police have also claimed Ms Dempsey did not disclose she had rheumatic heart disease during a police medical assessment when she was taken into custody. NT Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said that when Ms Dempsey was brought into custody,
Independent investigation request
The family’s lawyers have written to the NT coroner requesting an independent investigation into Ms Dempsey’s death by an interstate police force. NT Police is compiling a coronial report for coroner Elisabeth Armitage.
The family argues the Tennant Creek watch house should have had a custody nurse to check and monitor Ms Dempsey’s health. The Tennant Creek watch house does not have a custody nurse position funded, despite a recommendation of a 2012 coronial inquiry, which resulted in all other watch houses in the NT’s urban centres receiving a nurse.
