Teen continued to fight police after being shot, Zach Rolfe committal hearing told

A TEENAGER shot dead by police in Yuendumu last year continued to fight against and threaten to kill the officers who were trying to arrest him after the fatal shots were fired, a court has heard

Constable Zach Rolfe is facing a committal hearing in the Alice Springs Local Court

UPDATE 6pm: A TEENAGER shot dead by police in Yuendumu last year continued to fight against and threaten to kill the officers who were trying to arrest him after the fatal shots were fired, a court has heard.

Constable Zach Rolfe is this week facing a committal hearing in the Alice Springs Local Court after being charged with murder over the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker in November, but has denied any wrongdoing.

On Wednesday the other officer directly involved in Mr Walker’s attempted arrest, then constable Adam Eberl, recounted the details of the life and death struggle that ultimately resulted in the 19-year-old’s alleged murder.

After Sergeant Eberl’s body-worn camera footage was played to the court, he told Crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC everything happened “very fast” after Mr Walker began resisting arrest and had to be tackled to the ground.

Police ‘in a world of hurt’ after fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu last year

Footage of Kumanjayi Walker with axe three days before he was shot played at Zach Rolfe committal hearing

“I said ‘stop fighting’ and then I looked over and I could see some sort of edged weapon in his right hand,” he said.

“I couldn’t tell exactly what the weapon was, it was just some sort of sharp weapon of some sort, because it was dark, or darkish.”

It was then Sgt Eberl said he heard a “dull bang” he now knew to be first of three shots Rolfe fired at Mr Walker in the early evening of November 9 last year.

“I thought potentially (Constable) James (Kirstenfeldt) had a beanbag shotgun and had shot Mr Walker because it was a dull sound, not the high pitched clapping noise that you would get from a firearm without wearing earmuffs,” he said.

“Then I thought for a second it was my weapon that went off, looked down to see my holstered firearm and then I thought ‘How am I going to get this guy down?’.”

Sgt Eberl said it was while Mr Walker was on the ground, but before Rolfe fired the second and third shots, that he realised the weapon he was holding was a pair of scissors.

“My left hand was around his left wrist and I was holding it onto the ground so preventing him from turning his body because if I let go of that he would have turned his body and potentially stabbed me,” he said.

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Footage from Rolfe’s own body-worn camera was also played to the court, in which he can be heard saying “He was stabbing me, he was stabbing you, he’s got scissors right here — let go of the scissors”.

Sgt Eberl can also be heard saying “Don’t f*** around, I’ll f***ing smash you mate” after all three shots were fired, which he said was in response to Mr Walker continuing to resist arrest while still holding the scissors.

Sgt Eberl said it was around this time, while now lying fatally wounded, Mr Walker told the arresting officers “I’m going to kill you mob”.

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EARLIER: FOOTAGE from the moment shots fired from a police issue Glock took the life of Yuendumu teenager Kumanjayi Walker last year has been aired in court for the first time.

Constable Zach Rolfe is facing day two of a committal hearing in the Alice Springs Local Court into Mr Walker’s alleged murder last November after denying any wrongdoing in the shooting.

The body-worn camera footage recorded by Constable Anthony Hawkings shows him covering the rear of the house in which Mr Walker was killed, armed with his AR-15 assault rifle, when a commotion breaks out inside.

Women can be heard screaming as Constable Hawkings rushes around to the building’s front door where inside, Rolfe and Constable Adam Eberl are seen wrestling with Mr Walker on the floor.

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The camera turns away from the scene as the fatal shots are fired but Const Hawkings said he turned his head back and while he couldn’t say exactly how far away the gun was at the time he knew it was “very close”.

Const Hawkings recalled seeing Mr Walker holding something “extremely tight” as the other two men tried to restrain him while yelling for him to “let go of the scissors or drop the scissors”.

Under questioning by Crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC, Const Hawkings said police training dictated that “if you fear death or serious bodily harm” it was appropriate to draw your weapon.

“If you have no choice then you have to stop the threat to protect yourself from serious harm or death,” he said.

But Cont Hawkings also agreed that “just because you draw a firearm doesn’t mean you have to discharge that firearm”.

“It all depends on the actions of the person you’re challenging,” he said.