Yuendumu: Juror in Zachary Rolfe trial dismissed over ‘bias’

A juror in the trial of NT police constable ­Zachary Rolfe has been dismissed over what are believed to be perceptions of bias.

Zachary Rolfe leaves court in Darwin on Tuesday. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

A juror in the trial of Northern Territory police constable ­Zachary Rolfe has been dismissed over what are believed to be perceptions of bias.

Shortly after proceedings began at the NT Supreme Court on Tuesday, judge John Burns said he had received information about the jury that required immediate attention.

He closed the court for part of the morning, allowing only the accused man and defence and prosecution lawyers to remain inside. At one stage, Constable Rolfe and his defence team emerged looking stony-faced and left the court for a short time.

When the trial resumed, Justice Burns announced that one juror had been dismissed and one of two reserve jurors would be sworn in as a replacement.

“Both the accused and the crown have accepted assurances given by remaining members of the jury that they are able to address the issues in this trial in an unbiased fashion,” he said.

The jury heard from Senior Aboriginal Community Police Officer Derek Williams, who described Kumanjayi Walker (his nephew) as a “quite shy young fellow” who was “a bit slow” and suffered because his mother had ”sniffed petrol” before she fell pregnant.

Constable Rolfe shot Walker three times during an arrest gone wrong. He is facing charges of murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death.

The court has seen body-worn video footage from three days before the shooting of an incident in which Walker threatened two Yuendumu-based officers with an axe.

The jury has been told the incident was so shockingly violent that “everyone” at the Alice Springs police station learned of it quickly; many officers watched the body-worn footage, which made at least one specially trained tactical policeman feel physically sick.

Constable Rolfe’s police Immediate Response Team was dispatched to Yuendumu to help arrest Walker. IRT member Constable James Kirstenfeldt told the court he and Constable Rolfe did not discuss their mission at all during the three-to-four hour drive to Yuendumu.

Dog handler Senior Constable Adam Donaldson said he knew Walker had the potential to be violent, but he said he and the IRT did not discuss whether Walker might have weapons nor plan their response if he did turn violent, before setting out to affect his arrest.

The court has heard extensive evidence about a plan drafted by senior officers to safely arrest Walker at dawn using a “tried and tested” method leveraging surprise.

Constable Kirstenfeldt testified he was unaware of any such practice. “Well, you’d done it previously. Was there a discussion as to why you were arresting someone early in the morning?” crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC asked.

“Because we were on shift early in the morning,” Constable Kirstenfeldt replied.

The trial continues.