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

‘WE want Rolfe to be behind bars, we would want to see his bail conditions revoked’: A family member of slain teenager Kumanjayi Walker has told the NT News the group wants to see the police officer accused of murdering him, Constable Zach Rolfe, locked up while he awaits a likely trial in the Supreme Court.

Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves addresses family members of slain teen Kumanjayi Walker outside the Alice Springs Local Court on Tuesday. Picture: Jason Walls

UPDATE 5pm: FAMILY members of slain teenager Kumanjayi Walker have gathered in a peaceful sit down outside the Alice Springs Local Court for the first day of a committal hearing into his alleged murder.

Relative Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves told the NT News the family was still hurting after the 19-year-old’s untimely death in Yuendumu last November.

“We want justice because it’s hurting us, it has hurt us and tormented us, that’s what it does,” he said.

Mr Hargraves said the group wanted to see the police officer accused of murdering Mr Walker, constable Zach Rolfe, locked up while he awaited a likely trial in the Supreme Court, which he said should instead be held on country.

“Right now we want Rolfe to be behind bars, we would want to see his bail conditions revoked,” he said.

“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.”

Rolfe is appearing at the hearing via video link from Canberra where he remains on bail and has denied any wrongdoing in the shooting.

The hearing is expected to run for four days, after which judge John Birch will rule on whether there’s enough evidence for Rolfe to face a jury trial in the Supreme Court.

After the last witness was called on Tuesday, prosecutor Philip Strickland SC indicated he would be playing body-worn camera footage from the actual fatal shooting when the court reconvened on Wednesday, saying family members had requested a warning before the “confronting” footage was aired.

Judge John Birch agreed the images were confronting and said he would provide notice to anyone who wished to leave the courtroom before it was played.

“Unfortunately, unlike some other jurisdictions, the NT doesn’t have qualified people to provide emotional or other types of mental support to people who view these sorts of things,” he said.

“So I’m happy to tell everybody and those that wish to stay, can stay and those that would like to move outside the courtroom and wait, then they can do that.”

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EARLIER: FOOTAGE of the moment Kumanjayi Walker rushed at police armed with an axe just three days before he was shot to death by a cop in Yuendumu last year has been played in the Alice Springs Local Court.

The body-worn camera footage was shown during the first day of a committal hearing into Mr Walker’s alleged murder by Constable Zach Rolfe, who has denied any wrongdoing.

In it, one officer can be seen knocking on Mr Walker’s bedroom door and asking him to turn around so he can be placed in handcuffs and arrested.

After a brief verbal exchange, Mr Walker is seen rushing towards the officers armed with an axe before the panicked officer wearing the camera turns on his heels and runs from the house.

In giving evidence, police dog handler Adam Donaldson told the court when he viewed the footage three days later, prior to Mr Walker’s death, it struck him as “really bad”.

“It was extremely dangerous and I was surprised no one was hurt,” he said.

Under cross examination by Rolfe’s barrister, Anthony Allen, Senior Constable Donaldson agreed police training dictated the appropriate response to being confronted with an edged weapon was to draw your firearm.

“It’s always a firearm for an edged weapon,” he said.

But when questioned by Crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC, Constable Donaldson also agreed that while “knife equals gun”, the response would not necessarily involve firing the weapon.

“You produce your weapon as a response,” he said.