By Aaron Bunch
A constable who shot dead an Indigenous teenager during an outback arrest has been sacked by the Northern Territory Police Force.
Zachary Rolfe shot Kumanjayi Walker, 19, three times in the remote community of Yuendumu, northwest of Alice Springs, on November 9, 2019. Rolfe was found not guilty of murdering Walker following a high-profile, five-week trial in 2022.
Zachary Rolfe leaves the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin after an appearance in 2019.Credit: AAP
Rolfe was sacked on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the force confirmed.
“A 31-year-old male police officer has been dismissed from the Northern Territory Police Force effective April 4, 2023,” she said in a statement.
“The officer was dismissed under section 78 of the Police Administration Act 1978 due to serious breaches of discipline during their policing career.”
Despite the outcome of the murder trial, Rolfe became the subject of a wide-ranging coronial inquest into Walker’s death, vehemently fighting calls to give evidence during the proceedings.
A coroner heard Rolfe used “blatantly” racist language in text messages with colleagues and allegedly used heavy-handed tactics when arresting some Indigenous Territorians, triggering several internal investigations.
Rolfe left Australia in February after writing an open letter defending his character and criticising the NT Police Force and its commissioner for how they handled the inquest.
“The coronial focus is still on me rather than on areas that could improve the circumstances of the NT,” he wrote in the 2500-word dispatch published in full on the “I support Zach Rolfe” Facebook page.
Rolfe, who was born and raised in Canberra, also justified a series of messages in which he used derogatory terms towards Indigenous people, calling it “playground” language.
“I have used rude and racist terms regarding nearly every race, most often my own,” he wrote.
Rolfe dedicated 600 words to outlining rescues and patrols he had conducted as a police officer. In contrast, he said many details covered in the inquest had been taken out of context, “with several maligned cops talking badly about me”.
NT police leadership had used him as a pawn to satisfy their political goals, Rolfe added in the post.
The inquest resumes later in 2023 when Rolfe is scheduled to give evidence, pending the outcome of his appeal against an earlier Supreme Court decision that he could be compelled to take the stand.
AAP
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