Quarter of NT Police recruits have military background and are more likely to use weapons, Kumanjayi Walker inquest told

The Kumanjayi Walker inquest has heard Zach Rolfe’s ‘preoccupation’ with a ‘blue on green attack’ could have ‘had the propensity to trigger’ his military training.

Retired NT Police commander David Proctor said increased militarisation increased the risk of officers ‘operating with a paramilitary mindset’. Picture: Jason Walls

More than a quarter of NT Police officers recruited between 2010 and 2020 were ex-military and more likely to deploy capsicum spray, tasers and guns in the course of their duties, a court has heard.

Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage is presiding over a long running inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker after Constable Zach Rolfe was acquitted on all charges over his 2019 police shooting death in March.

On Friday, former NT Police commander, David Proctor, who worked on the Coronial brief before his retirement, took the stand in the Alice Springs Local Court in the penultimate week of hearings for this year.

Under questioning by Parumpurru Committee of Yuendumu barrister, Conor O’Bryan, Mr Proctor said he had “observed an increase in the militarisation” of the force during his 34 years on the job.

He said the Immediate Response Team unit that Constable Rolfe — himself a former soldier — had deployed to Yuendumu with on the night he shot Mr Walker had “adopted a paramilitary role focusing on weapons training and tactics”.

Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage in Yuendumu earlier this month. Picture: Jason Walls

Mr Proctor said a “trend analysis” he undertook as part of the Coronial investigation showed 26 per cent of recruits had backgrounds in the Australian Defence Force, but that NT Police had no training “focused on the reprogramming or retraining of ex-ADF members”.

“Would you accept that with an increased militarisation of the Northern Territory Police force comes an increased risk of police officers operating with a paramilitary mindset?” Mr O’Bryan asked.

“Yes, I think that’s fair.”

Mr O’Bryan cited an incident in February 2019 in which the IRT was deployed to reports of stolen vehicles, firearms and ammunition, in the context of the “Peelian” principles of policing by consent and using minimum force.

Mr Proctor said the response, which included Constable Rolfe being sent out in a helicopter armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, was not “an ordinary policing operation”.

“Obviously you had nothing to do with this incident, but you do have 34 years’ experience in the Northern Territory,” Mr O’Bryan said.

“Would you be able to assist us in what the plan might have been, to deploy Constable Rolfe with a semiautomatic assault rifle in a helicopter?

“No, I can’t, I wasn’t involved in that,” Mr Proctor replied.

“Would you agree that we’ve moved a long way away from the Peelian principles in this situation?” Mr O’Bryan asked.

Parumpurru Committee of Yuendumu lawyer, Conor O’Bryan, outside court. Picture: Jason Walls

“Yes,” Mr Proctor said.

Mr O’Bryan also read from an expert report tendered at the inquest which found that former soldiers could experience “hypervigilance” and “over-reactivity” following “blue on green” ambushes, in which nominally allied soldiers launched surprise attacks on Australians.

“Constable Rolfe’s preoccupation and concern about a blue on green attack may have been an underlying driver of his reactivity and could have had the propensity to trigger his training responses learned in the military context, rather than those learned in the policing context,” he read.

In response, Mr Proctor said all officers should be proactively monitored “to identify any concerning trends in their use of force” but agreed that “there might be even a higher risk among ex-ADF members”.

The inquest continues on Monday.