Rolfe’s return to work sparks Yuendumu ‘disgust and outrage’

Northern Territory policeman Zachary Rolfe has been cleared to return to work, sparking outrage in the troubled remote community where teenager Kumanjayi Walker was shot.

Northern Territory policeman Zach­ary Rolfe has been cleared to return to work later this month, sparking outrage in the remote central Australian community where Aboriginal teenager Kumanjayi Walker was shot.

Constable Rolfe will be back in the office in Darwin on July 18, although it is unclear whether he will be in uniform or on the beat.

He shot 19-year-old Walker during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu on November 9, 2019, and was charged with murder four days later.

A trial this year heard Walker stabbed Constable Rolfe with scissors before the policeman shot the teenager three times, twice while the latter was at least partially restrained on the floor.

The jury decided crown prosecutors failed to disprove Constable Rolfe’s claim he acted in self-defence and acquitted him of all charges. It emerged afterwards, in evidence not shown to the jury, that Constable Rolfe previously allegedly “deliberately assaulted” an Aboriginal man while on duty, fabricated an injury for justification and then “lied” under oath.

Text messages were also revealed in which Constable Rolfe purportedly described Alice Springs as a “like the Wild West … a shithole” and his job there with a tactical police unit as “a sweet gig, just get to do cowboy stuff with no rules”.

Zachary Rolfe and family leave the NT Supreme Court after he was found not guilty of all charges. Picture: Amanda Parkinson

NT Police sent him on leave within hours of his acquittal while they dealt with dozens of misconduct allegations. They also reportedly launched an internal probe into claims an executive summarily ruled out the possibility of Constable Rolfe being reinstated.

Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Warlpiri leader and spokesman for Yuendumu, told The Australian he and many others were “disgusted” to learn Constable Rolfe would soon be back to work.

“It’s so disgusting to have him back on his job,” Mr Hargraves said. “There’s no shame … the whole of Central Australia is ­really, really angry, and we’re still terrified … we don’t want him near any remote communities, especially Yuendumu.”

Mr Hargraves said the court process was unfair and refused to accept the jury’s not-guilty verdict. “I don’t believe Kumanjayi Walker stabbed Zach Rolfe,” he said.

“I don’t know how he (Constable Rolfe) got that injury, but I don’t think the young fellow did it … Zach Rolfe probably did it to himself, or somebody did it to him at the police station.”

No evidence was presented at any stage of the criminal proceedings to support Mr Hargraves’ claims, and The Australian does not suggest they are correct.

Key themes of the defence and prosecution cases revolved around an incident a few days before Walker died in which he threatened two Yuendumu-based policemen with an axe. The incident was described as extremely dangerous and confronting.

Mr Hargraves agreed the body-worn video of the encounter was disturbing and the policemen involved probably feared for their lives, but he declined to condemn Walker’s actions.

“He (Walker) just wanted space … he was in a panic,” he said. “Yes, he (the policeman closest) was worried that he was going to get killed, but he never pulled out his gun, so that’s what I call respect.

“He works here, and he knows he has to work with the community.”

Mr Hargraves has been at the forefront of calls – so far unheeded by the government – for a ban on police officers carrying firearms when working in the bush.

The NT Police Association, which funded Constable Rolfe’s legal defence and confirmed he would soon return to work, declined to say where he would be stationed.

“We are unsure at this stage what his role will be,” association president Paul McCue said.