Kumanjayi Walker killing: cop’s shot amid ‘violent’ attack

Kumanjayi Walker launched a ‘violent... potentially lethal’ attack on two officers, court hears.

Police watch over relatives of Kumanjayi Walker gathered outside of Alice Springs Local Court on Thursday. Picture: AAP

Kumanjayi Walker launched a “violent and potentially lethal” attack on two police officers trying to arrest him moments before he was fatally shot in the remote community of Yuendumu last month, a court has heard.

Lawyers for decorated constable Zachary Rolfe, who is charged with Walker’s murder, lashed out on Thursday at Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner and Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Ken Fleming for inflaming community divisions they argued could preclude a fair trial.

David Edwardson QC, representing Constable Rolfe, asked Alice Springs Local Court judge John Birch to move the case to Darwin, citing “inflammatory public commentary” with “racist overtones” and potential threats to witnesses in the Red Centre town.

In an apparent swipe at the police, he said the premature charging of Constable Rolfe had itself generated unprecedented misinformation, adding that numerous reports of the incident bore little resemblance to body-worn camera footage he had seen.

“Mr Walker resorted to violent and potentially lethal force against two police officers who were performing their duties,” he told the court. “Constable Rolfe was acting in good faith when he discharged his firearm.”

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Matthew Nathan SC urged “a real degree of caution as to what may or may not be shown on the body-worn ­camera”.

He did not oppose moving the case but said the “onus must be on the applicant to prove the defendant will not receive a fair trial”.

A statement released by a group claiming to represent the Warlpiri people argued holding hearings in Darwin would make it “impossible for many of the affected families and community members” to attend. “We already feel left out,” Warlpiri leader Ned Hargraves said in the statement. “We are not the ones that did it, and if it moves to Darwin, we will be disrespected.”

Nineteen-year-old Walker was shot dead on November 9 and Constable Rolfe, 28, was charged with murder four days later.

Around the same time Mr Gunner promised a gathering in Yuendumu, about 300km northwest of Alice Springs, that “consequences” would follow an investigation. Commissioner Fleming told another rally that anyone who did not think black lives mattered was “guilty of corrupt behaviour”.

“The fact of the matter is that those two attendances of themselves only fuelled the fire that already existed,” Mr Edwardson said.

The Red Centre community was now polarised with competing camps venting outrage about Walker’s death and the charging of Constable Rolfe.

“(We must) quell the uprising … (to) ensure the trial is fair and that jurors come from an impartial pool, rather than a parochial pool,” Mr Edwardson said. “Now is the time to strike, to make this application, and limit the damage that’s already been done.”

He acknowledged that it would be unusual for a case to be moved at the committal stage when no jurors were involved. It would be up to the Supreme Court of the NT to decide the location of any trial, should the case proceed.

Judge Birch reserved his decision until December 19, when he will also consider Constable Rolfe’s bail and a request from the prosecution for an extended three-month period to prepare evidence.

Constable Rolfe appeared at Thursday’s hearing via videolink from Canberra. Mr Edwardson said his client would “vigorously defend these charges”.

Committal proceedings are not expected to wrap up before the middle of next year, meaning the case is unlikely to come before a jury until late 2020 or 2021.