Zachary Rolfe allegedly ‘dishonest’, ‘ego-driven’ and ‘overtly racist’, NT coroner said in final evidence from Kumanjaya Walker inquest

Former NT Police officer Zachary Rolfe was allegedly “overtly racist”, “disciplined”, “dishonest”, “ego-driven” and “contemptuous of authority” before shooting dead Aboriginal Kumanjaya Walker, the Northern Territory coroner has heard. .

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of a deceased person, used with the permission of that person’s family.

NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage will spend Wednesday and Thursday hearing final legal arguments in the long-running inquest into the death of Kumanjaya Walker, before adjourning the hearing to write her findings and recommendations.

Coroner’s counsel Peggy Dwyer SC first addressed the court on Wednesday, arguing that some aspects of Mr Rolfe’s conduct as an Alice Springs police officer were “highly problematic”.

Walker, a Warlpiri-Luritja resident from the remote community of Yuendumu, died after being shot by then-constable Rolfe during an attempted arrest in November 2019.

Rolfe was later acquitted of murder, manslaughter and committing an act of violence following a six-week NT Supreme Court trial in March 2022.

The jury found he fired the fatal shots in self-defense after Walker stabbed him in the arm with scissors.

“(In written submissions) Mr Rolfe’s team urges your Honor not to sugarcoat Kumanjaya’s behaviour,” Dr Dwyer said in her oral submissions.

Dr. Dwyer detailed examples of Rolfe’s use of force at work between 2016 and 2019 and read aloud a series of text messages found on his phone.

“He had no respect for authority or rules, at least where it didn’t suit him,” she said.

“It gave him the opportunity to do some ‘cowboy bullshit,’ as he put it, in the ‘wild west,’ which increased the risk of what happened on November 9, 2019.”

Dr Dwyer told the coroner that on the night Walker was shot, Rolfe bore “ultimate responsibility for what went wrong” because he “deliberately” failed to follow a plan devised by other, senior officers to make a safe arrest.

She accused him of lying while giving evidence, both at the murder trial and at the coronial inquest, about his knowledge of the plan – suggestions Rolfe had previously rejected.

Dr. Dwyer also argued that Rolfe’s testimony indicating Walker reached for a firearm during the arrest attempt was a “fabrication.”

“If it were true that Kumanjayi Walker actually tried to get Mr. Rolfe’s gun … it would be considered the most important (argument) in self-defense,” she said.

Dr Dwyer told the court this was the “first time” the suggestion had appeared in Rolfe’s evidence during his trial.

Rolfe’s lawyers are expected to meet with the coroner on Wednesday afternoon.

Rolfe denied the allegations made against him during the investigation.

‘Red flags’ missed by NT police

Dr. Dwyer was also critical of the broader New York State Police and its oversight, training and supervision of police officers.

She claimed that Mr Rolfe’s superiors failed to notice “warning signs”, that he had used force on “an alarming number of occasions” before the shooting, and that he was mentored by senior police officers who likely “reinforced” her “problematic” behavior.

The adviser also urged the coroner to make recommendations on the health and education of young people in remote Aboriginal communities.

Dr Dwyer said the inquiry had heard evidence showing that young people with disabilities and those who had been exposed to domestic violence were more likely to encounter police.

She said Walker – who the court said was likely born with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, was deaf in one ear and witnessed violence as a toddler – was a “troubled young man with no support”.

“His story clearly illustrates the need for early intervention,” Dr. Dwyer said.

The inquest has already heard evidence about Walker’s criminal history and viewed body-worn camera footage showing the 19-year-old threatening local police officers with an ax during a separate attempt to arrest him two days before his fatal shooting.

“This is not about taking sides between Kumanjaya and the police officers involved,” Dr Dwyer said.

“All these people are more than the sum of what happened on November 9.”

Dr Dwyer told the court Walker’s death was “tragic and avoidable”.

The investigation began in September 2022 and was initially expected to last three months.

However, a number of legal arguments – largely brought unsuccessfully on Rolfe’s behalf – and the wide scope of the coroner’s inquest caused several delays.

Over the past two years, Judge Armitage has been examining systemic issues, including the territory’s health care and education systems.

She also uncovered allegations of widespread racism within the New York City Police Force – largely revealed by Rolfe himself.