Zach Rolfe claims Coroner colluded with NT Police to have him sacked over Kumanjayi Walker shooting

Lawyers cited the fact that Elisabeth Armitage ‘allowed her face to be painted by the deceased’s mother’ as well as statements by community members about ‘the spilling of Mr Rolfe’s blood’.

Former NT cop Zach Rolfe has claimed the Territory Coroner colluded with NT Police to satisfy the desires of the family of the man he killed to have him sacked from the force.

Mr Rolfe has “invited” Elisabeth Armitage to consider recusing herself from presiding over a long-running inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker which is due to resume in Alice Springs later this month.

It comes after Mr Rolfe was acquitted on all charges by a Supreme Court jury after he fatally shot the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man during a botched arrest in Yuendumu in 2019.

In submissions filed in support of Mr Rolfe’s application on behalf of Sergeant Ian Nankivell and Constable James Kirstenfeldt, the pair’s lawyer argues a visit by Ms Armitage to Yuendumu during the course of the inquest created a perception of bias.

Jeffery Hunter KC said the visit would have been “unremarkable” if not for “a series of unfortunate events that took place during the course of it” that “raised the spectre of apprehended bias”.

Mr Hunter cites the fact that Ms Armitage “allowed her face to be painted by the deceased’s mother” as well as statements made by community members about “the spilling of Mr Rolfe’s blood”.

“One only needs to momentarily reflect on the likely reaction of the deceased’s family and the Yuendumu community, had the coroner conducted an intimate meeting with the family of Mr Rolfe, to appreciate the significance of what occurred,” he wrote.

Kumanjayi Walker's mother Leanne Oldfield paints Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage’s forehead in Yuendumu last year. Picture: Jason Walls

In his own submissions, Mr Rolfe argues those “background circumstances” could “found a concern” that Ms Armitage later amended a non-publication order to facilitate disciplinary proceedings by NT Police that could have resulted in his dismissal from the force.

“This raises concerns about a possible connection between the decision to amend the non-publication orders and the Yuendumu community’s desire for Mr Rolfe’s employment with NT Police to be terminated, being a matter which by reasons of the interactions at Yuendumu, a fair-minded observer might think that the inquest had undertaken to consider as part of ‘justice for the community,” his lawyer Luke Officer wrote.

In response, lawyers for NT Police argue Mr Rolfe’s claims “constitute a further attempt … to distract from and delay the inquest process”.

“The inquest should proceed without further distraction in relation to peripheral and groundless aggrievements so that it can be brought to a conclusion without additional delay, trauma for the family members of Kumanjayi Walker and expense for the Northern Territory,” they wrote.

Mr Rolfe was later fired over an open letter he published on Facebook in February and is due to resume his evidence at the inquest on October 23.

Originally published as Zach Rolfe claims Coroner colluded with NT Police to have him sacked over Kumanjayi Walker shooting