Mother of five’s death in custody triggers lawsuit
The family of the woman who died in police custody filed a lawsuit regarding her treatment, alleging a hot and smelly cell, lack of access to water and lack of medication.
Aboriginal woman Kumanjayi Dempsey, 44, died at Tennant Creek Watch House in the Northern Territory on December 27 after being found unresponsive in her cell.
Her family took legal action against the NT government in the Federal Court, claiming police breached their duty of care to the mother-of-five.
They allege Ms Dempsey’s health was not properly assessed when she was taken into custody and she was not given access to her daily medication for rheumatic heart disease.
The family claimed NT police did not adequately monitor him and that the cell in which he was held was inadequately air-conditioned and smelled strongly of sewage, with the only way to access water being from a tap directly above the dirty toilet.
“Ms. Dempsey deserved humane and appropriate care,” attorney Peter O’Brien said in a statement Tuesday.
“The failure of NT police to ensure this resulted in a preventable death that devastated his family and left his five children growing up without a mother.”
The lawsuit seeks to compensate Ms Dempsey’s family for their suffering and to ensure that no further preventable deaths occur in police custody.
“The police have a duty to protect the citizens in their care and not to neglect them as much as they did in the case of Ms Dempsey,” Mr O’Brien said.
Ms. Dempsey was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after an incident on Christmas Day.
The circumstances surrounding Ms Dempsey’s death, including watchdog policy and procedures and her medical history, will form part of a brief of evidence for the coroner.
Police said officers were not told Ms Dempsey was suffering from rheumatic heart disease and had suffered a medical crisis while in custody before her death.
A detention nurse checks detainees’ medical records and carries out health checks at watch posts in Darwin, Katherine, Palmerston and Alice Springs, but there is no nurse at the Tennant Creek watch house.
