Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following story may contain images, voices, and video of people who have died.
The final report of an inquest into the police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker has been handed down by the Northern Territory coroner, nearly five years after the 19-year-old was fatally shot in the town of Yuendumu.
On November 9, 2019, Warlpiri man Walker was shot three times at close range by then-NT Police constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest. The officer was charged with murder, manslaughter, and engaging in a violent act causing death, but he was found not guilty by an NT Supreme Court jury following a six-week trial in 2022.
The subsequent coronial inquiry into the tragic death, conducted by NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage, heard from over 70 witnesses over 66 sitting days, across almost three years.
Handing down the long-awaited findings on Monday, Armitage said she found Rolfe was racist, and benefited from working in a system that was also racist. She said she was “comfortably satisfied” with concluding that racist language was normalised within the Alice Springs Police Station during his time there as an officer.
“His racist messages were not mere aberrations — they were, at least in part, reflective of a work culture that tolerated racism,” Armitage said, per ABC News.
“Having considered all the evidence, including Mr Rolfe’s explanations and justifications, I found that Mr Rolfe was racist.”
She said the way Rolfe entered local homes in Yuendumu, combined with the way he perceived Walker, “increased the likelihood of a fatal outcome“.
“While it was not possible for me to say with certainty that Mr Rolfe’s racist attitudes were operative in his decisions on 9 November, or were a contributing cause of Kumanjayi’s death, I cannot exclude that possibility,” the coroner said, per the publication.
“That I cannot exclude that possibility is a tragedy for Kumanjayi’s family and community, who will always believe that racism played an integral part in his death, and is a taint that may stain the NT Police.”
She found the fatal shooting was avoidable, and followed “a series of flawed decisions” by Rolfe “that significantly increased the risk of a fatal interaction with a member of the public”.
“This was a case of officer induced jeopardy – where officers needlessly put themselves in danger making themselves and others vulnerable and creating a situation that justifies the use of deadly force,” Armitage said, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
In the report, Armitage handed down 32 recommendations, including consultation to establish a Yuendumu leadership group; that NT Police investigate the recruitment process and when it may be appropriate to carry weapons into communities; and direct engagement between NT Police and Yuendumu leadership.
She recommended an investigation of internal NT Police complaints, addressed in consultation with the cultural reform command, as well as strengthening the police’s anti-racism strategy, making it public, and for compliance to be publicly reported.
In a statement, NT Police said it acknowledges the findings and recommendations handed down, which it will “carefully consider” in full.
“We acknowledge the Coroner’s work and thank her for the careful consideration she has given to such a complex and sensitive matter,” said Acting Commissioner Martin Dole.
“We extend our sympathies to the family of Kumanjayi Walker and acknowledge the courage of those who contributed to this process. This has been a hard road, and we are determined to ensure that what has been learned is not lost.”
It said it will continue to work with government, Aboriginal leadership, and the broader community “to ensure the recommendations are considered in the spirit in which they were made: to improve, to heal, and to build a better path forward”.
Lead image: 9News
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