Coroner in doubt over Rolfe probe after seeing unredacted report

The coroner presiding over the inquest into Kumanjayi Walker’s death may have to ‘disqualify herself’ after the NT Police Force provided her with an unredacted report into the shooting.

Northern Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage ahead of the Kumanjayi Walker inquest. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The coroner presiding over the inquest into Kumanjayi Walker’s death may have to “disqualify herself” after the Northern Territory Police Force provided her with an unredacted report into the shooting.

Constable Zachary Rolfe fatally shot Walker during an arrest at the remote outback community of Yuendumu in November 2019, but has since been acquitted of all charges related to the teenager’s death.

On Friday, his lawyer David Edwardson KC told the inquest that Coroner Elisabeth Armitage had been granted access to an unredacted version of a police coronial report which they had only received in redacted form after NT Police claimed legal professional privilege over parts of it.

“This of course then raises a very significant and important issue,” Mr Edwardson said.

“Putting to one side the question of whether the disclosure of the unredacted portions amounts to waiver (of legal professional privilege), there is a much more significant issue that arises from this unfortunate and concerning sequence of events.

“The issue is the consequence of access to extraneous information by a presiding officer.”

Mr Edwardson said access to the unredacted coronial report, prepared by Commander David Proctor, could affect the coroner’s impartiality when discharging her duty, which includes considering if the police coronial investigation was fair.

“It could not be said the redacted portions, given the significance of the headings and the topics that are being discussed, do not bear very significantly on a clear issue Your Honour has to consider,” Mr Edwardson said.

“As long as the Proctor report remains in its redacted form and the defence do not have access to it and the coroners court has, then the situation is untenable.”

He said the NT Police Force had “a very considered and serious decision” to make.

“If, as they currently do, maintain the claim for legal professional privilege, and acting on the assumption that the mere provision of the unredacted report to the coroner does not amount to waiver, then the question of disqualification must necessarily arise,” he said.

The Weekend Australian ­understands that there are three possible scenarios: either the NT Police will capitulate, the coroner finds that disclosure waived privilege or the coroner and her team have to be replaced.

Meanwhile Constable Rolfe’s lawyer also claimed that the inquest intends to lead evidence that could undermine the unanimous not guilty verdict of the jury in his murder trial.

Mr Edwardson objects to four categories of evidence set to be ventilated during the three-month hearing.

“The evidence does, we suggest, have the real prospect of seeking to undermine the jury verdict of acquittal,” he said.

The first category relates to whether Constable Rolfe provided honest and accurate information in his NT Police job application.

The second category relates to text messages that the NT Police extracted from his iPhone after his arrest over Walker’s death.

NT Police Constable Zachary Rolfe. Picture: Glenn Campbell

“Insofar as the text messages are relied on for the purposes of establishing some sort of racial motivation, we say this: there is no evidence at all in the brief that could give rise to the notion that Zachary Rolfe had any racial motivation at the time he pulled the trigger of his Glock on 9 November 2019,” Mr Edwardson said.

Mr Edwardson claimed that the NT Police had unlawfully downloaded and then disseminated his client’s text messages without receiving any direction to do so from the Coroner or her predecessor.

The third category of evidence objected to is the question of whether or not Constable Rolfe was affected by drugs and whether illicit drug use affected his conduct on the night of the shooting.

The fourth area relates to disciplinary matters that Constable Rolfe has been dealing with since the completion of his trial.

Mr Edwardson also objects to former Alice Springs police officer and Constable Rolfe’s ex-fiance Claudia Campagnaro being called to give evidence.

Judge Armitage will hear submissions from other parties, in response to Constable Rolfe’s objections, when the inquest resumes on Monday.