Coroner to investigate after Northern Territory records two deaths in custody in a week | Northern Territory
Northern Territory police said a 26-year-old man died at Darwin correctional center on Saturday.
This is the second death in custody reported in the region in just a few days.
The man was found unresponsive in his cell by prison officers around 7.50am on Saturday morning.
“Medical assistance was provided but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The death is not believed to be suspicious,” NT police said. he said in a statement. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
On Tuesday evening, a 25-year-old man died in police custody in Darwin’s northern suburbs after police arrested him following reports of an attack on a retirement village in Casuarina.
They detained him in the back cage of a police vehicle.
A short time later, the man had trouble breathing, police said. St John Ambulance was contacted while police began CPR. The official cause of death has not yet been determined.
“St John Ambulance officers attended and transported the man to the Royal Darwin Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead at 10.10pm,” a police statement about the death on Tuesday said.
“A crime scene was established in the police vehicle and at the arrest scene.”
The NT major crime unit was investigating the death under the supervision of the Professional Standards Command. Police were also investigating the death on behalf of the coroner.
