A Northern Territory police officer has told an inquest she is sorry the Yuendumu community was misled after one of her colleagues shot Kumanjayi Walker dead.

September 23, 2022

A Northern Territory police officer has apologised to a remote Indigenous community that was misled after one of her colleagues shot an Aboriginal teenager dead.

Kumanjayi Walker, 19, died on November 9, 2019, after Constable Zachary Rolfe, 31, shot him three times during a failed arrest in Yuendumu, 290km northwest of Alice Springs.

Const Rolfe was acquitted of murder after a Supreme Court trial.

At an inquest into Mr Walker’s death, Sergeant Julie Frost told the coroner a senior officer ordered her not to inform the community the Walpiri man had died in police custody.

She said the decision was driven by fears some community members could become violent toward police in Yuendumu if they learned the truth.

The ruse continued when police formed a convoy of vehicles and headed to the airport, deceiving Mr Walker’s family and the community into believing he was still alive and being flown to Alice Springs for medical attention.

But he wasn’t. The plane instead brought police reinforcements to Yuendumu and evacuated Const Rolfe to safety.

“There was a level of having to mislead the community and that was based on security issues and the security of Const Rolfe and my members,” Sgt Frost told the Alice Springs courtroom on Wednesday.

She agreed Aboriginal police officer Derek Williams, who was outside the station acting as a community liaison and also not told, had a right to feel betrayed over the deception.

“However, you know, once we inform Derek, Derek has then got the obligation of informing his family members and that was why we made that decision,’ she said.

Sgt Frost said she understood the community’s anger at not being told the truth.

“I understand … I really want to apologise to the community,” she said.

Asked whether she regretted not letting Mr Walker’s family see him before he died, Sgt Frost said she did not.

“I’m not sure whether I would say that regret was the right word,” she said.

“I was devastated for the family that we couldn’t allow that but we did that for a specific reason and that was safety.”

The inquest at the Alice Springs Local Court is exploring 54 issues related to the life of Mr Walker and the actions of police before and after he was killed.

Sgt Frost will continue giving evidence when it resumes on Friday.