‘Absolute anarchy’: Charges against murder suspect Jefferson Lewis loom over death of Kumanjayi Little Baby

The man accused of murdering a five-year-old girl in Alice Springs is expected to be charged as soon as today after his late-night arrest and the “absolute anarchy” that followed.

Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole appealed for calm in the red heartland, saying there was “one law” in Australia, shutting down traditional calls for revenge against murder suspect Jefferson Lewis, 47.

“This one law applies to everyone, including the people involved in the violence last night,” he said.

“Mr Lewis is in police custody. An investigation will be launched and the case will continue.

“So I tell the community that this is what is going to happen and this is what needs to be accepted by the community.”

Commissioner Dole confirmed Mr Lewis had been subjected to a “sustained attack” and was unconscious when police arrived to arrest him at a camp in the town late on Thursday night.

“The brief I was given was that he presented himself to one of the town camps in Alice Springs last night,” he said on Friday morning.

“As a result of him identifying himself, members of that town camp decided to inflict vigilante justice on Jefferson, and we received numerous calls saying he was in the process of being attacked.

“We reacted very quickly and stopped this from continuing.”

Commissioner Dole said Mr Lewis had suffered a “fairly severe beating”, including serious head injuries, and was unconscious.

Police and paramedics who arrived to treat and arrest Mr Lewis were also attacked.

“We transferred Mr Lewis to Alice Springs hospital and shortly afterwards a large crowd gathered and attempted to gain access to that hospital and Mr Lewis,” he said.

“Police intervened and we called upon every resource at our disposal to quell this violence.”

Commissioner Dole said Mr Lewis was “subject to a sustained attack”.

“He was treated at Alice Springs Hospital,” he said.

“He was unconscious at the time he was captured by us and was in the process of being treated by St John’s Ambulance when they were attacked like police.

“A decision was made to take him into custody… meaning his injuries are not serious enough to keep him in hospital.”

Mr Lewis was evacuated from Alice Springs and flew to Darwin at around 3.30am.

“He was suspended last night due to safety concerns, safety concerns for himself and emergency services workers,” the police chief said.

“We’ll have to make those assessments later. He’s currently in police custody and I don’t think he’ll be getting out anytime soon.”

This took place as hundreds of people rioted outside Alice Springs Hospital, where the defendant was being treated, in scenes described by Commissioner Dole as “absolute anarchy”.

“A large crowd of approximately 400 people gathered at the hospital and attempted to enter to reach Mr. Lewis,” Commissioner Dole said.

“It really turned into absolute anarchy.”

Commissioner Dole said violence against emergency services was “unacceptable”.

“My thoughts are with the police officers, ambulance officers and fire and rescue workers who were injured by the unacceptable behavior at Alice Springs hospital last night,” he said.

“And I must say that the behavior we saw last night cannot be explained, excused or accepted.

“There is absolutely no excuse for violence against emergency services who are simply doing their job.”

Police said officers initially formed a line to block access to the hospital as tensions rose, but the crowd quickly turned violent, throwing rocks, bricks and other projectiles.

Officers had to hide behind their vehicles as windows were broken and cars were repeatedly kicked and damaged.

Witnesses said men in the crowd demanded that Lewis be handed over to face civil justice.

During the chaos, police vehicles were set on fire and jumped, while four of the town’s five ambulance vehicles were damaged; This incident is expected to significantly impact emergency services.

The unrest lasted several hours as police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd of about 400 people.

The region’s top police officer said there would be consequences for the violence that broke out last night.

“So for those involved, you will face the law just as Jefferson Lewis faced the law, and your actions will not be accepted by us,” he said.

“Today, I am just calling for calm to the society.

“I want to thank the community for the support we have received so far and call for strong leadership today to crack down on this behavior and hope we don’t see this continue.”

Commissioner Dole said the violence was unacceptable but reflected the depth of pain in the community.

“I understand there is a lot of anger and a lot of grief, but what we saw last night is unacceptable,” he said.

“The law must be applied equally to everyone… We cannot choose who we protect.”

He said the unrest was in stark contrast to the unity the community had shown in previous days.

“We saw a community coming together, standing shoulder to shoulder, doing line searches, looking for the Kumanjayi Little Baby,” he said.

“To see what last night turned out to be…extremely disappointing.”

Prime Minister Lia Finocchiaro said “all our worst nightmares have come true” after police found the body of Little Kumanjayi Baby just before noon, but that “attacks on frontline workers are never acceptable.”

“Late last night police were able to arrest the suspect, which was incredibly comforting news for every Territor and of course the family,” he said.

“Then what happened last night is we witnessed riotous behavior that required tremendous police intervention and resources, and as a result of that behavior we saw police, fire crews and ambulances being attacked.

“We appreciate and understand that people are very angry and upset, but there is never an excuse for this or an acceptable response to violence.”

Ms Finocchiaro said police and emergency services had an important job to do.

“We hope this is an isolated incident and should not define the incredible community effort that has taken place this week,” he said.

“I don’t want last night to negate the tremendous effort we saw.

“And now, of course, there is very important police work going on and we should leave that to our police.”

Ms Finocchiaro said there would be no takeaway alcohol served in Alice Springs on Friday in response to last night’s riots.

“This is very, very important and will bring significant relief to the community and our front-line workers,” he said.

“There will be limited takeaway service tomorrow between 11:00 and 14:00.

“The market is already pretty tight and Monday and Tuesday are booze-free days anyway.”

More to come.