Indigenous man in serious condition after being hit by police vehicle in Alice Springs

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/19/indigenous-man-in-serious-condition-after-being-hit-by-police-vehicle-in-alice-springs

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Incident comes less than a week after Northern Territory officer fatally shot Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu

A 23-year-old Indigenous man is in a serious but stable condition after he was hit by a police vehicle in the Northern Territory on Monday night.

At about 8.30pm on Monday police said officers responded to reports of an armed man at a business in Alice Springs.

In a statement, NT police said: “Vehicles attended and in the process of attempting to apprehend the man there was a collision with the man and one of the vehicles.”

“Police administered first aid until St Johns Ambulance arrived and transported the man to hospital.”

The man suffered head injuries in the collision, and was taken to the Royal Adelaide hospital in South Australia.

A spokesperson from SA Health confirmed the man remained in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, saying it is being treated as “a serious custody incident” with oversight by the territory’s Professional Standards Command.

“The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated, and no further information is available at this time,” police said.

It comes little more than a week after the fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker by a NT police officer in Yuendumu, a town located around 300km north-west of Alice Springs.

An officer was charged with Walker’s murder last week after the death prompted widespread anger in the Territory and large-scale protests in Alice Springs.