Shock Zachary Rolfe evidence puts culture of elite NT police on trial

The NT’s most elite unit created a ‘coon of the year’ award for members who ‘exhibited the most coon-like ­behaviour’, Zachary Rolfe has told an inquest on a shocking day of evidence.

Zachary Rolfe wags his finger at an Indigenous woman during an angry confrontation outside the inquest into Kumanjayi Walker’s death. Picture: Liam Mendes

Northern Territory Police’s most elite unit created a highly offensive in-house “coon of the year” award for members who “exhibited the most coon-like ­behaviour”, former police officer Zachary Rolfe has told the inquest for the Walpiri man he shot and killed while trying to ­arrest him.

His allegations about the Darwin-based Territory Response Group rocked the upper ranks of NT Police on Monday, and commissioner Michael Murphy ordered an immediate investigation.

Mr Rolfe took the stand at the inquest for Kumanjayi Walker on Monday for what is scheduled to be five final days of evidence about events that led up to him fatally shooting the 19-year-old three times on ­November 9, 2019.

The hearings have become in part an expose of the culture inside NT Police, including in messages between police officers who variously referred to Aboriginal people as “bush coons” and “sand niggers”.

Mr Rolfe told the inquest he knew of a high-ranking officer who referred to an Aboriginal woman as “a fat gin”.

Kumanjayi Walker.

While Mr Rolfe named several people in his evidence, coroner ­Elisabeth Armitage agreed to issue a non-publication order on names and ranks of those he had accused in his evidence while the allegations were investigated.

Mr Rolfe acknowledged that he, too, had used racist language: “I would say it’s unacceptable but ­accepted in the NT Police.”

Asked if he embraced the racist language used by some police, Mr Rolfe said: “I wouldn’t say embraced but it rubbed off on me.”

He said police referred to an area of the Todd Tavern in Alice Springs that was patronised only by Aboriginal people as “the animal bar”, even on the police radio.

Mr Rolfe also said it would be completely wrong to assume that the racist language was confined to police in Alice Springs.

“You’ve heard evidence about the Territory Response Group and how professional they are and they are the tip of the spear, and from the TRG a number of those members have gone on to have high-ranking positions in the police force,” he said.

“Up until recently, the Territory Response Group had an annual party where they would issue awards to some of the members.

A woman believed to be from Yuendumu confronts Rolfe after day one of his evidence. Picture: Liam Mendes

Explosive scenes outside court. Picture: Liam Mendes

“Among the police force we had heard of this award and we knew it to be called the ‘coon of the year award’ … for exhibiting the most coon-like behaviour.

“The staff would make the recipient dress up in a toga and they’d give him a wooden club with some nails through the end.”

When the inquest finished for the day and as Mr Rolfe left the building, an Aboriginal woman approached him and said repeatedly “you f..king prick”, while he wagged his finger at her and said “don’t be silly, don’t be silly”. At one point the woman raised her shoe and Mr Rolfe’s lawyer, Michael Abbott KC, put out his hand in a protective gesture.

Referring to the alleged racism in the police force, Mr Rolfe said it was “accepted” and “known by multiple people who have given evidence here, and multiple people have lied about it”.

“Culture starts at the head and in a small place like the NT Police, we’re going to hear about this kind of stuff and this does become normalised.”

Former NT police officer Rolfe and his girlfriend arrive in Alice Springs on Sunday evening ahead of giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker. Picture: Liam Mendes

Mr Rolfe was never a member of the TRG and did not attend the awards. “I thought it was strange that high-level people would take part in it,” he said.

Asked if he now had more awareness of how problematic the language used inside NT Police was, Mr Rolfe replied: “100 per cent.”

“The fact that I for example said coon in my (text) messages, the fact that that’s been made public, which would have caused hurt to a number of people, especially kids, who should have been able to trust the police force, that kills me, so I’m sorry for that, but I can’t take it back,” he said.

There were about 50 people in the courtroom during Mr Rolfe’s evidence on Monday. Some serving police officers in plain clothes were there. Some observers wore “Justice for Walker” T-shirts.

During a short break after Mr Rolfe’s racism allegations, some people were visibly upset

Mr Rolfe, who was found not guilty of the murder of Walker in March 2022, was highly regarded by his boss at the immediate response group in Alice Springs but he is known to have had difficulty with some of his superiors.

This included being counselled repeatedly for risky behaviour after he led a daring police rescue of two tourists who almost drowned when their vehicle was swept away in a flood in 2016. Mr Rolfe co-ordinated the police response, first plucking a man from a tree above the car before swimming downstream for 5km to save his wife, who could not swim and was clinging to floating debris.

Mr Rolfe and his female colleague, Kirstina Jamieson, received bravery awards and were lauded in the media but their ­actions were never endorsed or rewarded by police.

On Monday, Mr Rolfe earlier answered questions about his time in the Australian Defence Force, before he joined NT Police. Asked why he thought he would fit the role of a police officer, Mr Rolfe said: “I was good at helping people that needed help and I was good at protecting people”.

“I had … high level of compassion and I was good at communicating,” he said.

When asked if he was compassionate to the people he was arresting, Mr Rolfe said he did his best until the person resisted arrest or fought him.