Racism cannot be ruled out as a contributor to the decisions of a former police officer when he fatally shot an Indigenous teenager in a remote community, a coroner has found.
Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at a home in Yuendumu, 300km northwest of Alice Springs, in November 2019.
The Northern Territory police commissioner was in the community along with several other representatives from the force on Monday to hear Coroner Elisabeth Armitage hand down her findings after a years-long inquest into the 19-year-old's death.
Senior Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves said he had invited Martin Dole to the community for the hearing and was promised the commissioner would speak with him after the proceedings.
"I am so, so, so disappointed with him," Mr Hargraves said.
"He promised me that he was going to be around and wait until the meetings were over and we were going to meet up later.
"Apparently he just left without letting me know 'I've gotta go'."
That disappointment was echoed by Kumanjayi Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown, who said Mr Dole should have honoured his promise.
"I'm really disappointed he's not stuck around and spoken to Ned, I think that's utterly disrespectful," she said.
In a statement to AAP the Northern Territory Police Force said Mr Dole extended his "heartfelt sympathies" to Mr Walker's family.
"Following conversations with senior community members, and in deep respect for the significance of this moment for Kumanjayi Walker's family and community, police returned to Alice Springs shortly after the formal proceedings concluded," the statement read.
In handing down her findings, which spanned 600 pages, Judge Armitage said she had found Mr Rolfe was racist and could not exclude the possibility his attitudes were a contributing cause of the 19-year-old's death.
"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 said.
Judge Armitage said Mr Walker's death was avoidable and a case of "officer-induced jeopardy", a circumstance where an officer "needlessly put themselves in danger, making themselves and others vulnerable and creating a situation that justifies the use of deadly force".
But Mr Rolfe was not just "a bad apple", Judge Armitage said, he worked in an organisation with "the hallmarks of institutionalised racism".
"His racist messages were not mere aberrations — they were, at least in part, reflective of a work culture that tolerated racism," she said, referring to texts sent between Mr Rolfe and police colleagues, littered with racist language.
The failure of the Northern Territory Police to properly supervise or "rein in" Mr Rolfe's behaviour, including an attraction to adrenaline, a lack of discipline and contempt for authority and women, emboldened his approach, the coroner said.
The NT force said it would "carefully consider" the coroner's 32 recommendations, which included consulting with Yuendumu community leadership about when it may be appropriate for police not to carry firearms.
She recommended improvements to training and the handling of complaints against officers.
"We acknowledge the coroner's work and thank her for the careful consideration she has given to such a complex and sensitive matter," Mr Dole said.
"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."
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