Zachary Rolfe trial: Kumanjayi Walker ‘shot twice at nearly point-blank range’

A fellow policeman saw Zachary Rolfe shoot Kumanjayi Walker twice at point-blank range as he lay face down, a court has heard.

Zachary Rolfe, who has been charged with the murder of Kumanjaya Walker at his parents’ home in Canberra in 2019. Picture: Andrew Taylor

In just a few seconds, Kumanjayi Walker pulled scissors from his pocket, was shot once, wrestled to the ground, shot twice more at close range and then told two police officers trying to arrest him he would kill them, a court heard.

Lawyers at the committal hearing for Constable Zachary Rolfe, who intends to plead not guilty of Walker’s murder, played and replayed in excruciating ­detail graphic scenes from the final moments of the Aboriginal teenager’s life.

People gathered in the public gallery, including some of the young man’s relatives, saw ­Walker confronted in the dark by ­Constable Rolfe and another ­Immediate Response Team member, Adam Eberl.

NT Police officer Zachary Rolfe.

They heard Walker give a false name — Bernard Dixon — as the pair tried to identify him. They saw Walker nervously finger his right pocket. Moments later, after ­Constable Rolfe held up a phone with a picture of Walker alongside the teenager’s face illuminated by torchlight, they saw the struggle ensue that ended Walker’s life.

One officer told Walker to turn around and put his hands ­behind his back. He didn’t — he resisted. Constable Eberl grabbed Walker, catching sight of something sharp in his right hand. ­Constable Eberl told the court that at that point, he didn’t know what the object was. Then he heard a “dull thud”.

The sound didn’t register the first shot from Constable Rolfe’s Glock. ­Constable Eberl suspected it might be a beanbag round fired by another IRT member, James Kirstenfeldt, who was outside.

­Constable Eberl “dropped” Walker to the floor, pinning him by his left arm, with his right trapped by his body. It was then that ­Constable Eberl saw the scissors, according to his testimony.

The body-worn camera footage from a fourth officer, ­Anthony Hawkings, captured the sounds of gunfire followed by screaming and the looming silhouette of a policeman outlined in the doorway of a remote community home. It recorded two more gunshots and scenes of ­Constable Rolfe and ­Constable Eberl crouching over Walker lying face down or slightly to one side on the floor.

­Constable Hawkings said in a recorded interview soon after the incident, which happened in Yuendumu on November 9 last year, that he saw ­Constable Rolfe shoot Walker twice in his midriff at point-blank range. Under cross-examination by ­Constable Rolfe’s barrister, David Edwardson QC, ­Constable Hawkings could not be sure precisely how far the muzzle of ­Constable Rolfe’s gun was from Walker’s body.

Mr Edwardson was at pains to stress the potentially deadly threat Walker posed to the officers sent to arrest him for breaching a court order. They had watched footage of Walker ­attacking two other officers with an axe three days earlier. They knew he could be armed and might try to hurt them.

Prosecution barrister Philip Strickland SC asked every witness to clarify that drawing a gun did not mean it needed to be fired. ­Constable Eberl denied being “angry” while searching for Walker.

The court heard the group of four IRT members and a dog handler had no designated leader and no formal plan about what they would do upon encountering the wanted teenager. Yuendumu police station office-in-charge Sergeant Julie Frost testified on Tuesday she had told them to arrest Walker at about 5.30am on November 10, when he would be asleep. The officers all denied being briefed on that ­strategy.

­Constable Eberl acknowledged striking Walker to the side of the face moments before the pair struggled. The body-worn cameras captured him telling Walker to “stop it mate … don’t f..k around; I’ll f..king smash you” after shots had been fired.

The case continues.