NT police officer Zach Rolfe to face trial in Supreme Court for alleged murder of Kumanjayi Walker

NT POLICE officer Zach Rolfe will face a murder trial in the Supreme Court after a judge in Alice Springs ruled he had a case to answer in the killing of Kumanjayi Walker

NT police officer Zach Rolfe will face a murder trial in the Supreme Court after a judge ruled he had a case to answer in the killing of Kumanjayi Walker

NT POLICE officer Zach Rolfe will face a murder trial in the Supreme Court after a judge in Alice Springs ruled he had a case to answer in the killing of Kumanjayi Walker.

Rolfe shot and killed the 19-year-old in Yuendumu during an arrest gone wrong while on duty last November but has denied any wrongdoing in his death.

Rolfe’s lawyers had argued his actions were “justifiable defensive conduct” and the case against him should be thrown out but the court also heard expert testimony that a “second volley” of shots was “excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary”.

On Monday, judge John Birch ruled prosecutors had established a prima facie case against Rolfe and he should face trial by a jury of his peers in the Supreme Court.

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Mr Birch outlined the reasons for his decision to the court but defence counsel David Edwardson QC applied to have his comments suppressed on the basis they “could prejudice the fair trial of the accused”.

Despite noting arguments for and against Rolfe being committed to trial had been conducted in public, Mr Birch granted the application after it wasn’t opposed by prosecutor Collette Dixon.

“It would be most unfortunate if a potential jury were to be aware of my reasoning process which, at the end of the day, does not have particular relevance to a trial before a judge and jury,” he said.

“I am satisfied that it would be, at this stage, in the interests of justice to suppress the reasons for my decision other than my order that the defendant be committed for trial.”

The decision was met with jubilant scenes from Mr Walker’s family members outside court, where Samara Fernandez-Brown said the news came as “a huge relief”.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the outcome,” she said.

“As soon as it was announced everyone just started crying so it’s a really special moment for everyone.”

The case will now be mentioned in the Supreme Court in Alice Springs for the first time on November 25 but Rolfe’s legal team could still renew a push for proceedings to be moved to Darwin before it is listed for trial.

Mr Edwardson has previously argued the “unprecedented” publicity and community sentiment surrounding the shooting meant the case should be heard in Darwin but the move was opposed by Mr Walker’s family.

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Relative Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves told the NT News last month the family believed the trial should be held on country.

“We wanted the trial to be at Yuendumu, right at the beginning we said that but I don’t know, nobody’s listening — we should have it in Yuendumu,” he said.