The officer-in-charge of the elite Northern Territory police unit a murder-accused constable belonged to says it was used to cordon and contain offenders.

February 24, 2022

The primary role of the elite Northern Territory police unit a murder-accused constable belonged to when he fatally shot an Aboriginal teenager was to cordon and contain offenders.

Constable Zachary Rolfe, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Kumanjayi Walker during a failed arrest attempt in Yuendumu, 290km northwest of Alice Springs, late on November 9, 2019.

Rolfe shot the 19-year-old three times after he resisted being put in handcuffs and stabbed the constable in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.

Prosecutors say his Immediate Response Team ignored senior officers’ orders to wait until 5.30am the following day to arrest the teen when he could be more easily taken into custody.

Rolfe and another officer instead went into Mr Walker’s grandmother’s home 15 minutes after leaving the local police station, where the officer-in-charge says she handed them a printed copy of the approved arrest plan, and attempted to take the teen into custody.

The unit’s commander, Sergeant Lee Bauwens, told the Supreme Court in Darwin the part-time team’s main job was cordoning that had been declared “a high-risk situation”.

“They cordon and manage that situation until further resources arrive, namely (the Tactical Response Group),” he said.

Sgt Bauwens said the TRG performed more roles than the IRT, which has never been approved for a high-risk deployment.

“TRG do bomb disposal, close personal protection, search and rescue, diving, and (the IRT) response is basically limited to a cordon and containment section.”

Prosecutors say Rolfe and three other IRT officers sent to Yuendumu were “intent” on arresting Mr Walker after watching body-worn camera footage of the teen violently threatening two other officers with an axe three days earlier.

Sgt Bauwens said the IRT would need an approved Immediate Emergency Action to enter a home it was assigned to cordon during a high-risk deployment and that would only happen if a life-threatening situation occurred.

The IRT’s deployment to Yuendumu on November 9 was considered a high-risk deployment because Rolfe and his team were primarily there to assist fatigued local officers with general duties.

An IEA was not issued.

After the IRT found Mr Walker he lied about his name and wrestled with another officer before stabbing Rolfe in his left shoulder.

He died on the floor of the local police station 74 minutes after the second fatal shot left a “gaping hole” in his right lung and ripped through his spleen, liver and left kidney.

The Crown has conceded the first shot, which was fired while Mr Walker was standing and resisting arrest, was justified.

It says the second and third shots went “too far” because the teen was “effectively restrained” on the ground by another officer when Rolfe pulled the trigger.

Prosecutor Philip Strickland SC has asked members of Rolfe’s team about the decision to enter the darkened home where they found Mr Walker and whether they considered placing a cordon around the house.

The trial continues on Thursday.