Report into N.S. inmate death makes recommendations, but criticized for lack of detail
The legal director of a non-profit law firm said the two-page report from a committee established by Nova Scotia's Department of Justice is a far cry from what needs to be done to address deaths in custody.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/deaths-in-custody-nova-scotia-report-9.7219195?cmp=rss

#Australia - National #Indigenous Times

"The National Indigenous Times is a multi-award winning Indigenous affairs news organisation set up by Owen Carriage which first appeared in newspaper form on February 27, 2002, and produces a monthly newspaper which is read by around 1 million Australians each month across the country.

"In 2016, following a period of administration, the publication was purchased by prominent #Indigenous businessmen #WayneBergmann and #ClintonWolf, as well as the late respected journalist, #TonyBarrass, who became the newspaper’s editor.

"At that time the National Indigenous Times also pivoted to online for the first time, and today has a rapidly growing digital reach across Australia and worldwide through www.nit.com.au and social media channels.

"#NIT is now 100 per cent owned by Mr Bergmann, who serves as Executive Chairman, and Mr Wolf, the company’s Managing Director.

"Core editorial focuses for the NIT include Indigenous business, justice for Stolen Generations survivors, fashion and the arts, sport, Voice, Treaty and Truth, and deaths in custody."

https://nit.com.au/

#VoiceTreatyAndTruth #IndigenousNews
#FirstNationsAustralia #FirstNations
#NoMoreStolenChildren #Australia #RegionalNewsAustralia #DeathsInCustody #NationalIndigenousTimes

Indigenous

Coverage of issues and news relating to Aboriginal and Indigenous Australians from ABC News

Man dies in Sydney prison unit that watchdog wanted shut down because it ‘cannot provide a safe environment’

Exclusive: Young inmate took own life in Long Bay prison five months after independent inspector warned of ‘ligature points in cells across all areas’

The Guardian
‘Profoundly distressing’: record number of deaths in custody and police operations in NSW

There were 66 deaths in custody and police operations in 2025 – 18 more than the previous year

The Guardian
Victoria police called to give evidence into Indigenous man’s death in custody seek protection from self-incrimination

Request comes at the start of a two-week inquest into the death of Noongar man Jeffrey Winmar in Melbourne

The Guardian

@abc_bot ...and thus continues, unbroken, the 250 years of genocide after invasion. someone really should invade us again now, to end this barbarity.

#firstnations #deathsincustody #auspol #genocide

Coroner to investigate after Northern Territory records two deaths in custody in a week

A 26-year old man died in a cell in Darwin on Saturday, and a 25 year-old man died in a police car on Tuesday

The Guardian

"The police chokehold - also known as the Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint hold, LVNR or sleeper hold - involves compressing the arteries and veins in the neck to decrease blood supply to the brain.

Queensland is currently the only state in Australia to allow the controversial chokehold.

... in addition to the well-documented evidence base of chokeholds and the risks associated with death for all Australians, the unacceptable risk the chokehold poses to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Peoples."

"there have been at least five deaths involving the chokehold in Queensland. These five victims were Stevie Lee Nixon-McKellar, Noombah, Christopher Martin, Carl Grillo and Michael Eddy."

"... Stevie Lee's mother, Dr Raylene Nixon, is spearheading a campaign to ban chokeholds in Queensland. "

"The campaign saw some early success. On 14 April 2023, then QPS Commissioner Katarina Caroll removed the chokehold as a use of force option for the Queensland Police Service. A direction to cease using the technique was put in place. References to the chokehold were removed from the police manual... But just one month later, Commissioner Caroll reneged, stating pressure from the Queensland Police Union... The LVNR is currently allowed in 'dangerous situations'.

"The death of George Floyd prompted jurisdictions around the globe to ban the chokehold...All Australian states and territories besides Queensland have banned the use of chokeholds. Victoria, NSW and Qld are all categorical in stating they do not teach or advocate the use of any form of chokehold or respiratory neck restraint."

Dr Nixon is continuing the campaign, see https://nit.com.au/10-03-2026/23068/mother-fights-to-ban-police-chokeholds-in-queensland

"A petition calling on the coroner to release the footage of Stevie-Lee's death can be signed online."

"Releasing the footage is in the public interest. In 2020, footage of George Floyd being physically restrained by Minneapolis police flooded mainstream and social media worldwide, triggering long over-due conversations about racism and police violence around the globe. ....

In the absence of justice before the courts, releasing the footage is crucial. In Australia, no police officer has ever been held accountable in relation to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person who has died in police custody. In the absence of justice before courts of law, justice in the court of public opinion takes on special importance.  "

#NoMoreDeathsInCustody #FirstNationsJustice #QueenslandPolice #QldGov #QLD #Justice4StevieLee #DeathsInCustody

Dr Raylene Nixon's fight for justice and an end to police chokeholds in Queensland

On 7 October, 2021, Steven Lee Nixon-McKeller was killed at the hands of two Queensland Police Service (QPS) officers in Toowoomba.Stevie Lee was just twenty-seven years old. He died after he was held...

National Indigenous Times
NSW coroner ‘very troubled’ by health policy change after Stolen Generations member dies in custody

Yuin man Gregory Merriman did not have a chronic health screening before suffering a fatal heart attack in Silverwater prison in 2022

The Guardian