NT Police Commissioner fights to block the release of investigation into Palmerston teen Peter Skeen’s shooting

An Aboriginal teenager was shot three times as he allegedly tried to flee from police. Now the Commissioner is fighting to block the release of an internal investigation.

Palmerston teenager Peter Skeen was shot at six times by NT Police during an incident at Gray on March 8, 2022. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Police are fighting to block the release of an internal investigation after an Aboriginal teenager was repeatedly shot while allegedly running from cops.

Peter Skeen was just 19 years old when a police officer fired at him six times after he allegedly threatened them with a spear during a confrontation in Gray, Palmerston.

Three bullets hit the teenager in the chest, neck and abdomen, leaving him in a 13-day coma.

Darwin Local Court heard on Thursday that while Skeen was “fighting for his life in a coma”, police charged him with two counts of assaulting police, and going armed in public.

The now 21-year-old is trying to force the Police Commissioner’s office to release their investigation 16 months after the March 2022 shooting.

The young man sat in a wheelchair supported by family, as Judge Ben O’Loughlin was told about Skeen’s “life long injuries”, including spinal damage and chronic foot drop.

Peter Skeen was just 19-years-old when a police officer fired at him six times after he allegedly threatened them with a spear during a confrontation in Gray, Palmerston. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

His defence lawyer Clancy Dane applied to gain access to un-redacted versions of arrest notes, the police internal investigations, use of force directives, as well as police correspondence about the shooting.

Of the 290 documents requested by the defence, police either refused to disclose or heavily redacted the information, resulting in 70 disputed documents.

The Office of the Police Commissioner’s lawyer Ralph Bonig said the withheld information was either forensically irrelevant to the investigation or would breach the public interest immunity provisions to release.

Critically among these documents was the censored final report investigating the two police officer’s actions on the fateful morning of March 8.

Mr O’Loughlin was told that police had initially denied the report even existed, and then refused to hand it over — even to prosecutors.

On Thursday the judge held up the redacted report to the court, showing an entire page had been blacked out.

Territory Criminal Lawyers principal lawyer Clancy Dane speaks to press after one of Peter Skeen's Darwin Local Court hearings. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

Mr Dane said given the body-cam footage from the morning, any findings that the officers had unlawfully used force would be critical for the young man’s case.

“Six (bullets) were discharged, and the ones that caused the injuries struck Mr Skeen in his back were at a time he was moving away.”

“He was running away.”

He alleged the late shots “were not necessary … in self-defence”.

Mr Dane said evidence relating to the officer’s state of mind “when they pulled the trigger”, the lead up to the shooting, their use of force training and any internal communications about the release of the internal inquiry could be critical to Skeen’s ultimate sentence.

But Mr Bonig said since there were no allegations of Skeen resisting arrest or charges against the police, the lawfulness of the shooting itself was irrelevant to the teenager’s alleged crimes.

He said unlike the Rolfe-Walker investigation — in which a NT police officer also shot a 19-year-old Aboriginal boy — “the officers in this matter are not on trial”.

Mr Dane said given the body-cam footage from the morning, any findings that the officers had unlawfully used force would be critical for the young man’s case. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

But Mr Dane said there was a “low threshold” for the release of documents in order to defend people accused of serious crimes.

“We don’t know what we don’t know,” he said.

Mr Dane added that if police continued to block the release of documents he would make an application to stay the proceedings alleging cops were conducting an “abuse of process”.

Palmerston teenager Peter Skeen was shot at six times by NT Police, but a report from that incident has still not been fully released. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Looking over the uncensored police investigation findings, Mr O’Loughlin said he was unimpressed with the public interest immunity argument.

“If this information got out there, so what?,” he asked.

He said at first glance, the redacted sections police were trying to protect were not operationally sensitive, or would reveal police methodology, information or tactics.

Mr O’Loughlin said it included the type of firearms police were trained on — “which you can see on their hips all the time”.

“I’m balancing public interest immunity, (with) fairness to the defendant, stay, and a period of time where there may have been … inappropriate efforts to suppress the material,” Mr O’Loughlin said.

He said he would release his decision by August 24.

Originally published as NT Police Commissioner fights to block the release of investigation into Palmerston teen Peter Skeen’s shooting