Zachary Rolfe trial: Outback shooting ‘designed to ensure death’

A jury has been shown body-worn video footage of the moment NT police constable Zachary Rolfe shot and allegedly killed Aboriginal teen Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu.

NT Police Association president Paul McCue, left, with constable Zachary Rolfe at the Supreme Court in Darwin on Monday. Picture: AAP

A jury has been shown shocking body-worn video footage of the moment Northern Territory police constable Zachary Rolfe shot and allegedly killed Aboriginal teenager Kumanjayi Walker in the troubled outback community of Yuendumu.

Walker, 19, was lying “pinned” on a mattress with Constable Rolfe’s partner, constable Adam Eberl, partially on top of him, the jury was told.

The grainy footage shows Constable Rolfe reaching around Constable Eberl’s shoulders to fire what prosecutors say was a ­lethal “double-tap” to Walker’s midriff at point-blank range.

“The accused had his Glock in his right hand and held it point-blank against the mid-region of Kumanjayi Walker,” crown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC told the jury.

Kumanjayi Walker

“This rapid discharge of shots with a semiautomatic gun is sometimes called a ‘double tap’ in police and military circles, and the ‘double tap’ is designed to ensure maximum injury or death.”

A few seconds before, the trio had been struggling after Walker pulled a pair of surgical scissors from his pocket and stabbed Constable Rolfe in the shoulder during an arrest gone wrong.

Constable Rolfe shot Walker once while Walker was still standing, but the prosecution says the first shot did not constitute a crime. It was the second and third shots, fired just 2.6 seconds later and once Walker was on the ground, that the prosecution says were murderous.

Judge John Burns told the jury he expected Constable Rolfe would not deny firing the shots that killed Walker.

“The crown’s case is that when the accused fired the second and third shots, he intended to kill ­Kumanjayi Walker or at the very least cause him serious harm,” Mr Strickland said.

Constable Rolfe, the son of a prominent Canberra family and an Australian Defence Force veteran, was in Yuendumu on Nov­ember 9, 2019, with three others from his NT Police Immediate Response Team.

Walker was wanted for breaching a court order.

Constable Rolfe faces charges of murder, manslaughter and ­engaging in a violent act causing death. He has pleaded not guilty to all three.

Mr Strickland said at the time of the shooting, Constable Rolfe, who previously served in Afghanistan, had “extensive experience in handling firearms and weapons but … limited experience performing police duties in a remote Indigenous community”.

The jury was also shown footage of an encounter that took place three days before Walker was shot in which he threatened two local policemen with an axe.

Mr Strickland said those officers had “considerable experience in policing in remote Indigenous communities” and urged the jury to notice that “when Kumanjayi Walker was armed with an axe, neither … thought it was necessary to draw their guns”.

He said Constable Rolfe had watched that duplicate footage before setting out to find Walker and, with a colleague, criticised those two officers’ approach. Walker had escaped an alcohol rehabilitation centre and fled home to Yuendumu to attend his grandfather’s funeral, the jury heard.

‘We are hurting’: Yuendumu leader Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves outside the Supreme Court in Darwin on Monday. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Justice Burns empanelled a jury of 14 people, including two ­reserve jurors. The jurors divided equally into men and women, with two men in reserve. Most of the jury were of caucasian appearance; there were no obviously ­Aboriginal members. A court spokesman was unable to clarify whether any juror identified as Aboriginal.

Yuendumu and many surrounding communities in central Australia are experiencing a surge of Covid-19 infections linked to below-average vaccination rates. The federal government has intervened to restrict movement using biosecurity laws.

Aboriginal groups, including Walker’s extended family, were represented at the NT Supreme Court in Darwin by cultural elders Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves and Lindsay Japanangka Williams. They were accompanied by Lisa Watts, a non-Aboriginal woman who has raised almost $400,000 in Walker’s name via a GoFundMe page.

“We are hurting,” Mr Hargraves told media outside court. “We’ve waited two years, two months. The community itself is very angry.

“I must say this, we want to put a spear across the legs,” he added before Ms Watts intervened and told him to “stick to the script”.

Mr Williams said the community had been in sorry business since Walker’s death.

“We are still holding those bad feelings about what took place,” he said. “Our community is still shaking, wondering what is going to happen to our kids’ future … we want justice for our family, ­Kumanjayi Walker.”

Andrew Boe, a barrister ­believed to be employed with funds from Ms Watts’ GoFundMe page, was also at the court.

Constable Rolfe arrived soon after 9am surrounded by about a dozen supporters, including his parents and former-soldier-turned-aspiring-politician Heston Russell,

Constable Rolfe said it was good the trial was “finally here”.

His barrister, David Edwardson QC, said the legal team was looking forward to getting on with it. NT Police Association president Paul McCue said other police ­associations around the country offered their support and all ­involved were “looking forward to the trial taking place and … ultimately seeing justice prevail”.

Constable Rolfe was charged within days of the November 2019 incident but his trial was delayed several times because of coronavirus while lawyers argued over what defences he could use and what evidence was admissible.

The jury will sit for reduced hours as a Covid-19 precaution and Justice Burns will hear legal arguments in the afternoons.

The trial is expected to last three to four weeks and is set to continue on Tuesday.

Yuendumu: The Trial is a gripping new podcast from The Australian

After nine months of Covid-related delays, suppressed legal arguments and High Court interventions, The Australian this week launches daily updates of our podcast Yuendumu: The Trial.

It will be a forensic analysis of each day’s action in court, presented by journalists Kristin Shorten and Matt Cunningham. Go to theaustralian.com.au/yuendumu for all our coverage and podcast updates. In our app, go to Podcasts each morning for a new episode. You can hear Yuendumu: The Trial wherever you get your podcasts.