The actions of the Northern Territory police before and after an Indigenous teen was fatally shot by an officer are set to be examined at a coronial inquest.

September 4, 2022

The circumstances surrounding the death of an Indigenous teenager fatally shot by a Northern Territory police officer during an outback arrest gone wrong will be examined at a coronial inquest.

Kumanjayi Walker, 19, died on November 9, 2019, after Constable Zachary Rolfe, 30, shot him three times in Yuendumu, 290km northwest of Alice Springs.

The inquest starting in Alice Springs Local Court on Monday will also explore why police wanted to arrest the teen and how his death has affected his family and community.

Const Rolfe was acquitted at trial in March of murdering the teen, igniting grief and anger in Yuendumu, with some community members decrying the justice system as racist.

Coroner Elisabeth Armitage had planned to start the inquest at the community but the two-day sitting was cancelled last month amid rising tensions.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer, said the community was in a “state of high conflict” and “community members don’t feel comfortable having outsiders, including journalists, spending time in the community.”

Ms Armitage has previously said the hearing, set down for three months, would give the teen’s family and community the chance to express their distress, concerns and hopes for the future.

“We will endeavour to not simply hear them, but understand them,” she during a directions hearing soon after Const Rolfe’s trial.

“In a fair and balanced way, we will seek to better understand what happened … and why it happened, with the goals of determining the truth and making recommendations that may assist in preventing future deaths in similar circumstances.”

The inquest will also explore if there is systemic racism or cultural bias in the NT police force and whether it has been militarised, and if this has increased the risk of conflict and unnecessary use of force.

It will also probe whether Mr Walker received adequate medical treatment after Const Rolfe fired three shots into his torso from close range as the pair and another officer scuffled inside a dark room in the teen’s grandmother’s home.

The teen had stabbed the officer in the moments before and threatened two other policemen with an axe three days earlier as he escaped being arrested and fled into the bush.

He died on the floor of the local police station about an hour after Const Rolfe’s second shot ripped through his spleen, lung, liver and a kidney.

The inquest’s 54-item issues list also asks whether Const Rolfe was suffering any health issues and whether he was taking medication to treat them.

Const Rolfe’s training for the use of force and firearms will also be examined, along with the force’s broader policies and procedures, and whether they were complied with when police were sent from Alice Springs to the remote community to arrest Mr Walker.

Evidence will also be sought about whether Const Rolfe provided “accurate and honest” information when he applied to the police force and whether his three team members’ conduct has been the subject of any disciplinary action.

Other issues that will be canvassed will be whether the fairness or efficiency of the police force’s coronial investigation was compromised, and if Mr Walker’s family and community were adequately supported during the process.

Among the parties that will be represented at the inquest are Mr Walker’s family, the Yuendumu community, Const Rolfe, NT Health and the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency.

Const Rolfe’s lawyer, Luke Officer, has previously raised concerns about some of the issues concerning his client, including the probe into drug use, his integrity, recruitment and any complaints or disciplinary action he may have been the subject of.

Ms Dwyer said in reply that the inquest would not be an “roving royal commission” into Const Rolfe’s actions and the focus would be on the NT Police Force response.