Police witnesses resume at Walker inquest

Tim Dornin | October 24, 2022

Northern Territory police officers will continue to give evidence at the inquest into the death of Indigenous teenager Kumanjayi Walker.

The inquiry in Alice Springs continues on Monday as it investigates the circumstances surrounding the shooting of the 19-year-old in November 2019.

Mr Walker was shot three times during a bungled arrest at a property in Yuendumu.

Constable Zachary Rolfe was subsequently charged with murder and manslaughter over the shooting but was cleared on all counts after a Supreme Court trial.

Const Rolfe had been part of a four-officer Immediate Response Team that had gone to Yuendumu to arrest the Warlpiri man.

He was wanted after brandishing an axe at local officers during a previous arrest attempt just days earlier.

On Friday, the inquest was told that the selection of the IRT was “effectively random”.

Senior Constable Shane McCormack told the NT coroner that he had been tasked with contacting officers to take part in the deployment.

He said he worked off a list of officers which did not include their levels of training or any disciplinary history.

He said those picked weren’t the first ones he called and agreed that the process was not related to their experience or skills.

“I just needed four people. The first four and that’s it,” he said.

Sen Const McCormack said he gave no consideration to the expertise of those he contacted.

“We’ve all done the same training. They’re in the IRT so clearly, they’d be suitable,” he said.

In other evidence on Friday, Sen Const McCormack admitted he had been critical of Yuendumu officers who had been involved in the earlier arrest attempt.

After watching body-worn camera footage of that incident, he said he formed an opinion that he was glad he didn’t see a police officer seriously injured or killed.

“I thought they left it to chance. I was critical in a way that you’re critical when you first see something,” he told the court.

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t get a better appreciation of it.”

Sen Const McCormack was also questioned about statements he made after the shooting in relation to the axe incident in which he said if he had been involved he would have “hunted” the person down.

But he said he never expressed that opinion to other members of the IRT and told the inquest that he now regretted using that term which came after Const Rolfe had been arrested.

“I can’t say I was in a happy place at that stage,” he said.

“I apologise. If I’d do it again, I wouldn’t use that word.”