Kumanjayi Walker death cops like ‘undisciplined paramilitary force’

Watching the body-worn video of Alice Springs police searching for Kumanjayi Walker is like watching ‘an undisciplined paramilitary force’ hunting their target, an NT court has heard.

Ian Freckelton KC – who is representing the NT Police Force and its members – will no longer represent the five officers who exchanged “racist, sexist and offensive” text messages.

Watching the body-worn video of Alice Springs police searching for Kumanjayi Walker is like watching “an undisciplined paramilitary force” hunting their target, a Northern Territory court has heard.

Lawyer Julian McMahon SC on Thursday told the coronial inquest into the Indigenous teenager’s death that he doubted “this would happen pretty much anywhere else in Australia”.

Mr McMahon, representing Parumpurru Committee of Yuendumu Community, said the footage of an Immediate Response Team trying to find Walker in the minutes before Constable Zach­ary Rolfe fatally shot him was “anything but unassailable”.

“On one view, looking at those videos is like looking at an undisciplined paramilitary force with an assault rifle going through houses searching out a target,” he said. “How that came to pass invites a deep understanding to the background.”

This came amid fresh legal argument over admissibility of evidence pertaining to Constable Rolfe. Day 17 of the inquest was consumed by submissions in relation to eight categories of evidence that Constable Rolfe’s lawyers object to being ventilated throughout the rest of the three-month hearing.

They include Constable Rolfe’s disciplinary history, previous allegations of excessive use of force, possible recreational drug use, alleged dishonesty in his police application and whether evidence in his criminal trial was contaminated by a BBQ he held two days after the shooting.

Constable Rolfe’s counsel made written submissions that argued the issues being canvassed went “beyond the scope of the inquest” but counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer, said coronial legislation should be read “as broadly as the text and context will allow … The evidence concerning each of the eight topics may be relevant to your honour’s findings or recommendations and should be received on that basis.”

Zachary Rolfe. Picture: Amanda Parkinson

Dr Dwyer she was “confused” by Constable Rolfe’s objections, which “appear to be tactical”, and that most of the matters to be explored were outlined in the 170-page coronial report prepared by Superintendent David Proctor, which has been available to all parties since April.

Constable Rolfe’s lawyers object to evidence concerning alleged discrimination by NT police officers against Indigenous people and community police.

In the past fortnight, the inquest has heard the contents of text messages from Constable Rolfe’s phone that reveal racist attitudes towards Aborigines and derogatory attitudes towards bush cops. Constable Rolfe submits that the text messages that contain derogatory language are not relevant because the IRT had followed the instructions of Remote Sergeant Julie Frost on the night Walker was killed.

Dr Dwyer said that was “plainly incorrect” and the messages “may be relevant” to whether Con­stable Rolfe “deliberately ignored” the operational plan or whether there had been a communication breakdown.

The inquest will resume on Oct­ober 10.