Death on edge of custody demands new mindset for NT police
Walker, 19, stabbed former police constable Zachary Rolfe with a pair of scissors and was shot three times during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu, 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs in November 2019. Rolfe was later charged with murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death and acquitted by an NT Supreme Court jury in 2022.
NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage spent nearly three years inquiring into the shooting and found she could not exclude the possibility that, in addition having distain for 'the bosses', a lack of respect for women, contempt for bush police and an attraction to adrenaline-style policing, Rolfe's racist views had contributed to the fatal shooting.
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'Mr Rolfe was racist, and he worked in and benefited from an organisation with the hallmarks of institutional racism,' Armitage said. 'While it was not possible for me to say with certainty that Mr Rolfe's racist attitudes were operative in his decisions on 9 November or were a contributing cause of Kumanjayi's death, I cannot exclude that possibility. That I cannot exclude that possibility is a tragedy for Kumanjayi's family and community, who will always believe that racism played an integral part in his death and is a taint that may stain the NT police.'
She warned NT Police should not consider Rolfe the only 'bad apple' as his racist language and attitudes were found among fellow police in Alice Springs. Further, she condemned the failure of police and health authorities to coordinate movements so that there was no adequate medical care available at Yuendumu to treat Walker as he lay dying. She also made 32 recommendations, including investigating recruitment processes, carrying weapons in communities and strengthening NT Police anti-racism strategies and an investigation into internal NT Police complaints.
The coroner's findings are another shameful indication of the Northern Territory's deplorable record on imposing law and order.
Nine years ago, the ABC's Four Corners program exposed atrocities being enacted on children at Darwin's Don Dale youth detention centre, including use of restraint chairs and spit hoods. The resulting national outrage prompted then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to foist a royal commission onto a recalcitrant NT government. The commission report in 2017 recommended the centre's immediate closure. The Darwin administration got around to shifting the children out only last year.
Since the age of 13, Kumanjayi Walker had spent six months each year in some form of custody. Armitage spoke of his history of alcohol and drug abuse. This NAIDOC Week, her findings are another poignant reminder of the disproportionate weight carried by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in dealings with NT Police. This may be a regional tragedy but the Territory government must move decisively to reflect national values.
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The Advertiser
35 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Why Australia became so obsessed with the Erin Patterson mushroom case
The "mushroom murder trial", as it has popularly become known, has gripped Australia over the past 11 weeks. More than that, it's prompted worldwide headlines, multiple daily podcasts, and even YouTube videos of self-proclaimed "body language experts" assessing defendant Erin Patterson's every move. There's an ABC drama series in the works. Acclaimed Australian author Helen Garner has been in the courtroom. But why did this tragedy, in which three people died and a fourth was lucky to survive, grip the public consciousness in way no other contemporary Australian case has? On July 29 2023, in a sleepy town called Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, a very normal woman called Erin Patterson made an ostensibly very normal lunch of beef Wellington. She was cooking for her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's husband Ian. Erin's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but chose not to attend. Simon and Erin had two children, a boy and a girl, who did not attend the lunch either. Shortly after the lunch, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis. Erin Patterson also presented to hospital, but refused to be admitted. Within a few days, Gail, Don, and Heather all died as a result of what was later confirmed as poisoning with Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms. Ian survived, but he was lucky. He spent seven weeks in hospital and needed a liver transplant. The questions became, how did the mushrooms get into the beef Wellington? Was this an awful accident or something more sinister? These questions became the focus of very significant public and media attention. Erin Patterson spoke to the media in the days after the incident. She presented as your typical, average woman of 50. That is, in my opinion, where the obsession with this case began. This case had the feel of a Shakespearean drama: multiple deaths within one family, death by poison, and a female protagonist. The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive. Then there were the lies. Patterson lied about foraging for mushrooms, and about having cancer to encourage the guests to attend. The location also played a huge part. Leongatha is known for its staggering natural beauty and thriving food and wine scene. It's hardly a place where the world expected a mass murderer to live. However, the perception that rural areas are utopias of safety and social cohesion, and cities are dark and dangerous places, is a myth. One study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a different picture. For serious assault cases that resulted in hospitalisation, for major cities the rates were 65 per 100,000 people. In rural areas, this rose to 1244 people per 100,000. And for murder, in very remote areas the rate was five per 100,000 population, but fewer than one per 100,000 in urban areas. Then there was Erin Patterson's unusual behaviour. She disposed of the desiccator in which the mushrooms she had foraged were dehydrated. She used multiple phones, one of which underwent multiple factory resets on in the days following the lunch. One of these resets was done remotely after police seized her phone. There are also the much-discussed plates. The court heard she prepared her meal on a different-coloured plate to those of her other guests so they were easily identifiable. The public latched onto these details, each providing a new talking point around water coolers or spurring new Reddit threads dedicated to unpacking their significance. Ultimately, after three months, Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty. The trial lasted 40 days. The prosecution alleged Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, whereas the defence suggested it was all an awful, tragic accident. The jury took six and a half days to deliberate. During that time, various media outlets did everything they could to keep the story on the front page. Bizarre pieces began appearing online from credible sources such as the ABC, profiling people who had attended court. They included stories of people turning down work to attend the court daily, cases of friendships blossoming during the trial between regular attendees, and the outfit choices of locals turning up every day to watch the drama unfold. There were also articles profiling local cafe owners and how they felt about being at the centre of the legal theatrics. The daily podcasts continued even when news from the courtroom didn't. The vibe felt more appropriate for a royal visit than a triple murder trial. It seemed everyone in Australia was gripped by one event, united in a way few other things could manage. We all waited with bated breath to see what the 12 men and women of the jury would decide. The end to this strange and unique criminal case came on Monday, July 7. The result? Guilty on all four counts. Erin Patterson is formally a mass murderer, though many in the court of public opinion had reached the same conviction months earlier. Leongatha will always be known for being the setting of (arguably) the most infamous multiple murder case in Australian history. It will join Snowtown in South Australia (home of the "bodies in the barrell" murder case), Kendall in NSW (where William Tyrrell disappeared), and Claremont in Western Australia (the murder or disappearance of three women) as places forever linked to tragic crimes. While the trial is over, there's much more content still to come, the public's appetite yet to be satiated. But the final word should be saved for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. This is an awful tragedy, and there are no winners. Ian and Simon have lost loved ones. The Patterson children have lost grandparents and now have to come to terms with the fact their mother caused those deaths intentionally. Amid the spectacle, it's easy to lose sight of the humanity at the centre. As the media spotlight dims, may the families get the privacy and respect they deserve. The "mushroom murder trial", as it has popularly become known, has gripped Australia over the past 11 weeks. More than that, it's prompted worldwide headlines, multiple daily podcasts, and even YouTube videos of self-proclaimed "body language experts" assessing defendant Erin Patterson's every move. There's an ABC drama series in the works. Acclaimed Australian author Helen Garner has been in the courtroom. But why did this tragedy, in which three people died and a fourth was lucky to survive, grip the public consciousness in way no other contemporary Australian case has? On July 29 2023, in a sleepy town called Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, a very normal woman called Erin Patterson made an ostensibly very normal lunch of beef Wellington. She was cooking for her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's husband Ian. Erin's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but chose not to attend. Simon and Erin had two children, a boy and a girl, who did not attend the lunch either. Shortly after the lunch, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis. Erin Patterson also presented to hospital, but refused to be admitted. Within a few days, Gail, Don, and Heather all died as a result of what was later confirmed as poisoning with Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms. Ian survived, but he was lucky. He spent seven weeks in hospital and needed a liver transplant. The questions became, how did the mushrooms get into the beef Wellington? Was this an awful accident or something more sinister? These questions became the focus of very significant public and media attention. Erin Patterson spoke to the media in the days after the incident. She presented as your typical, average woman of 50. That is, in my opinion, where the obsession with this case began. This case had the feel of a Shakespearean drama: multiple deaths within one family, death by poison, and a female protagonist. The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive. Then there were the lies. Patterson lied about foraging for mushrooms, and about having cancer to encourage the guests to attend. The location also played a huge part. Leongatha is known for its staggering natural beauty and thriving food and wine scene. It's hardly a place where the world expected a mass murderer to live. However, the perception that rural areas are utopias of safety and social cohesion, and cities are dark and dangerous places, is a myth. One study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a different picture. For serious assault cases that resulted in hospitalisation, for major cities the rates were 65 per 100,000 people. In rural areas, this rose to 1244 people per 100,000. And for murder, in very remote areas the rate was five per 100,000 population, but fewer than one per 100,000 in urban areas. Then there was Erin Patterson's unusual behaviour. She disposed of the desiccator in which the mushrooms she had foraged were dehydrated. She used multiple phones, one of which underwent multiple factory resets on in the days following the lunch. One of these resets was done remotely after police seized her phone. There are also the much-discussed plates. The court heard she prepared her meal on a different-coloured plate to those of her other guests so they were easily identifiable. The public latched onto these details, each providing a new talking point around water coolers or spurring new Reddit threads dedicated to unpacking their significance. Ultimately, after three months, Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty. The trial lasted 40 days. The prosecution alleged Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, whereas the defence suggested it was all an awful, tragic accident. The jury took six and a half days to deliberate. During that time, various media outlets did everything they could to keep the story on the front page. Bizarre pieces began appearing online from credible sources such as the ABC, profiling people who had attended court. They included stories of people turning down work to attend the court daily, cases of friendships blossoming during the trial between regular attendees, and the outfit choices of locals turning up every day to watch the drama unfold. There were also articles profiling local cafe owners and how they felt about being at the centre of the legal theatrics. The daily podcasts continued even when news from the courtroom didn't. The vibe felt more appropriate for a royal visit than a triple murder trial. It seemed everyone in Australia was gripped by one event, united in a way few other things could manage. We all waited with bated breath to see what the 12 men and women of the jury would decide. The end to this strange and unique criminal case came on Monday, July 7. The result? Guilty on all four counts. Erin Patterson is formally a mass murderer, though many in the court of public opinion had reached the same conviction months earlier. Leongatha will always be known for being the setting of (arguably) the most infamous multiple murder case in Australian history. It will join Snowtown in South Australia (home of the "bodies in the barrell" murder case), Kendall in NSW (where William Tyrrell disappeared), and Claremont in Western Australia (the murder or disappearance of three women) as places forever linked to tragic crimes. While the trial is over, there's much more content still to come, the public's appetite yet to be satiated. But the final word should be saved for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. This is an awful tragedy, and there are no winners. Ian and Simon have lost loved ones. The Patterson children have lost grandparents and now have to come to terms with the fact their mother caused those deaths intentionally. Amid the spectacle, it's easy to lose sight of the humanity at the centre. As the media spotlight dims, may the families get the privacy and respect they deserve. The "mushroom murder trial", as it has popularly become known, has gripped Australia over the past 11 weeks. More than that, it's prompted worldwide headlines, multiple daily podcasts, and even YouTube videos of self-proclaimed "body language experts" assessing defendant Erin Patterson's every move. There's an ABC drama series in the works. Acclaimed Australian author Helen Garner has been in the courtroom. But why did this tragedy, in which three people died and a fourth was lucky to survive, grip the public consciousness in way no other contemporary Australian case has? On July 29 2023, in a sleepy town called Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, a very normal woman called Erin Patterson made an ostensibly very normal lunch of beef Wellington. She was cooking for her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's husband Ian. Erin's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but chose not to attend. Simon and Erin had two children, a boy and a girl, who did not attend the lunch either. Shortly after the lunch, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis. Erin Patterson also presented to hospital, but refused to be admitted. Within a few days, Gail, Don, and Heather all died as a result of what was later confirmed as poisoning with Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms. Ian survived, but he was lucky. He spent seven weeks in hospital and needed a liver transplant. The questions became, how did the mushrooms get into the beef Wellington? Was this an awful accident or something more sinister? These questions became the focus of very significant public and media attention. Erin Patterson spoke to the media in the days after the incident. She presented as your typical, average woman of 50. That is, in my opinion, where the obsession with this case began. This case had the feel of a Shakespearean drama: multiple deaths within one family, death by poison, and a female protagonist. The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive. Then there were the lies. Patterson lied about foraging for mushrooms, and about having cancer to encourage the guests to attend. The location also played a huge part. Leongatha is known for its staggering natural beauty and thriving food and wine scene. It's hardly a place where the world expected a mass murderer to live. However, the perception that rural areas are utopias of safety and social cohesion, and cities are dark and dangerous places, is a myth. One study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a different picture. For serious assault cases that resulted in hospitalisation, for major cities the rates were 65 per 100,000 people. In rural areas, this rose to 1244 people per 100,000. And for murder, in very remote areas the rate was five per 100,000 population, but fewer than one per 100,000 in urban areas. Then there was Erin Patterson's unusual behaviour. She disposed of the desiccator in which the mushrooms she had foraged were dehydrated. She used multiple phones, one of which underwent multiple factory resets on in the days following the lunch. One of these resets was done remotely after police seized her phone. There are also the much-discussed plates. The court heard she prepared her meal on a different-coloured plate to those of her other guests so they were easily identifiable. The public latched onto these details, each providing a new talking point around water coolers or spurring new Reddit threads dedicated to unpacking their significance. Ultimately, after three months, Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty. The trial lasted 40 days. The prosecution alleged Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, whereas the defence suggested it was all an awful, tragic accident. The jury took six and a half days to deliberate. During that time, various media outlets did everything they could to keep the story on the front page. Bizarre pieces began appearing online from credible sources such as the ABC, profiling people who had attended court. They included stories of people turning down work to attend the court daily, cases of friendships blossoming during the trial between regular attendees, and the outfit choices of locals turning up every day to watch the drama unfold. There were also articles profiling local cafe owners and how they felt about being at the centre of the legal theatrics. The daily podcasts continued even when news from the courtroom didn't. The vibe felt more appropriate for a royal visit than a triple murder trial. It seemed everyone in Australia was gripped by one event, united in a way few other things could manage. We all waited with bated breath to see what the 12 men and women of the jury would decide. The end to this strange and unique criminal case came on Monday, July 7. The result? Guilty on all four counts. Erin Patterson is formally a mass murderer, though many in the court of public opinion had reached the same conviction months earlier. Leongatha will always be known for being the setting of (arguably) the most infamous multiple murder case in Australian history. It will join Snowtown in South Australia (home of the "bodies in the barrell" murder case), Kendall in NSW (where William Tyrrell disappeared), and Claremont in Western Australia (the murder or disappearance of three women) as places forever linked to tragic crimes. While the trial is over, there's much more content still to come, the public's appetite yet to be satiated. But the final word should be saved for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. This is an awful tragedy, and there are no winners. Ian and Simon have lost loved ones. The Patterson children have lost grandparents and now have to come to terms with the fact their mother caused those deaths intentionally. Amid the spectacle, it's easy to lose sight of the humanity at the centre. As the media spotlight dims, may the families get the privacy and respect they deserve. The "mushroom murder trial", as it has popularly become known, has gripped Australia over the past 11 weeks. More than that, it's prompted worldwide headlines, multiple daily podcasts, and even YouTube videos of self-proclaimed "body language experts" assessing defendant Erin Patterson's every move. There's an ABC drama series in the works. Acclaimed Australian author Helen Garner has been in the courtroom. But why did this tragedy, in which three people died and a fourth was lucky to survive, grip the public consciousness in way no other contemporary Australian case has? On July 29 2023, in a sleepy town called Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, a very normal woman called Erin Patterson made an ostensibly very normal lunch of beef Wellington. She was cooking for her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather's husband Ian. Erin's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but chose not to attend. Simon and Erin had two children, a boy and a girl, who did not attend the lunch either. Shortly after the lunch, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis. Erin Patterson also presented to hospital, but refused to be admitted. Within a few days, Gail, Don, and Heather all died as a result of what was later confirmed as poisoning with Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms. Ian survived, but he was lucky. He spent seven weeks in hospital and needed a liver transplant. The questions became, how did the mushrooms get into the beef Wellington? Was this an awful accident or something more sinister? These questions became the focus of very significant public and media attention. Erin Patterson spoke to the media in the days after the incident. She presented as your typical, average woman of 50. That is, in my opinion, where the obsession with this case began. This case had the feel of a Shakespearean drama: multiple deaths within one family, death by poison, and a female protagonist. The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive. Then there were the lies. Patterson lied about foraging for mushrooms, and about having cancer to encourage the guests to attend. The location also played a huge part. Leongatha is known for its staggering natural beauty and thriving food and wine scene. It's hardly a place where the world expected a mass murderer to live. However, the perception that rural areas are utopias of safety and social cohesion, and cities are dark and dangerous places, is a myth. One study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a different picture. For serious assault cases that resulted in hospitalisation, for major cities the rates were 65 per 100,000 people. In rural areas, this rose to 1244 people per 100,000. And for murder, in very remote areas the rate was five per 100,000 population, but fewer than one per 100,000 in urban areas. Then there was Erin Patterson's unusual behaviour. She disposed of the desiccator in which the mushrooms she had foraged were dehydrated. She used multiple phones, one of which underwent multiple factory resets on in the days following the lunch. One of these resets was done remotely after police seized her phone. There are also the much-discussed plates. The court heard she prepared her meal on a different-coloured plate to those of her other guests so they were easily identifiable. The public latched onto these details, each providing a new talking point around water coolers or spurring new Reddit threads dedicated to unpacking their significance. Ultimately, after three months, Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty. The trial lasted 40 days. The prosecution alleged Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, whereas the defence suggested it was all an awful, tragic accident. The jury took six and a half days to deliberate. During that time, various media outlets did everything they could to keep the story on the front page. Bizarre pieces began appearing online from credible sources such as the ABC, profiling people who had attended court. They included stories of people turning down work to attend the court daily, cases of friendships blossoming during the trial between regular attendees, and the outfit choices of locals turning up every day to watch the drama unfold. There were also articles profiling local cafe owners and how they felt about being at the centre of the legal theatrics. The daily podcasts continued even when news from the courtroom didn't. The vibe felt more appropriate for a royal visit than a triple murder trial. It seemed everyone in Australia was gripped by one event, united in a way few other things could manage. We all waited with bated breath to see what the 12 men and women of the jury would decide. The end to this strange and unique criminal case came on Monday, July 7. The result? Guilty on all four counts. Erin Patterson is formally a mass murderer, though many in the court of public opinion had reached the same conviction months earlier. Leongatha will always be known for being the setting of (arguably) the most infamous multiple murder case in Australian history. It will join Snowtown in South Australia (home of the "bodies in the barrell" murder case), Kendall in NSW (where William Tyrrell disappeared), and Claremont in Western Australia (the murder or disappearance of three women) as places forever linked to tragic crimes. While the trial is over, there's much more content still to come, the public's appetite yet to be satiated. But the final word should be saved for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. This is an awful tragedy, and there are no winners. Ian and Simon have lost loved ones. The Patterson children have lost grandparents and now have to come to terms with the fact their mother caused those deaths intentionally. Amid the spectacle, it's easy to lose sight of the humanity at the centre. As the media spotlight dims, may the families get the privacy and respect they deserve.
ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
Five key findings from the NT coroner's inquest into Kumanjayi Walker's death in police custody
In her 683-page report, Coroner Elisabeth Armitage made 32 formal recommendations for change, after an almost three-year coronial inquest into the police shooting of 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. This story contains racist and offensive language and images, as well as references to sexual assault. The coroner made findings about Kumanjayi Walker's upbringing in remote central Australia, plagued by poverty and health issues, as well as his struggle to cope at school, because of his disabilities. Mr Walker was deaf in one ear and was likely born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). "From the age of 13 to 18, Kumanjayi spent a considerable period of time in juvenile detention or under some restraint, such as bail or subject to a court order," Judge Armitage said. The coroner also explored Zachary Rolfe's background; his previous career in the military and prior uses of force. Through examination of his text messages, she found the use of racial slurs was "normalised" between officers. "The purpose of receiving this evidence was to investigate whether Mr Rolfe held racist views, what the consequence of those views might have been for his conduct on 9 November 2019, why he might have held those views and how they might be prevented in the future," she wrote. Here are five of the key findings in the report. Ultimately, Judge Armitage found Kumanjayi Walker's death was "avoidable" and the failed arrest of the 19-year-old was "a case of officer induced jeopardy". "[It's] an expression that describes situations where officers needlessly put themselves in danger," Judge Armitage wrote. The coroner found Mr Rolfe, "a very junior officer" did not prioritise safety in the arrest of a "vulnerable teenager", such as Mr Walker, and made a series of "flawed decisions that significantly increased the risk of a fatal interaction with a member of the public". Local Yuendumu Sergeant, Julie Frost, had devised a so-called "5am arrest plan", to effect a safe arrest of Mr Walker in the early hours of November 10, in the presence of a local officer who knew him. Mr Walker was wanted for allegedly breaching a court order, and days before his death, threatening two other police officers with an axe. But the coroner found Mr Rolfe "jettisoned" the 5am arrest plan — which Judge Armitage also found "was not without its weaknesses" — and substituted a "vastly inferior approach" which ended in Mr Walker's death. Judge Armitage found that she could not definitively rule that Zachary Rolfe's racist attitudes contributed to Kumanjayi Walker's death, however she also said it could not be ruled out. "That I cannot exclude that possibility is a tragedy for Kumanjayi's family and community who will always believe that racism played an integral part in Kumanjayi's death," Judge Armitage said. Judge Armitage said that Mr Rolfe's text messages provided evidence of his "derisive attitude to female colleagues and some superiors". She also noted that the messages revealed his "attraction to high adrenaline policing; and his contempt for 'bush cops' or remote policing; all of which had the potential to increase the likelihood of a fatal encounter with Kumanjayi". The coroner found his "unsavoury views" were consciously or unconsciously embedded in the decisions he made on the night Mr Walker was shot in Yuendumu. The inquest reviewed a string of previously unseen body-worn camera videos of arrests made by Mr Rolfe prior to Kumanjayi Walker's death. Some of them had been ruled inadmissible in the jury trial which acquitted the former officer of murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death. The coroner found, based on that evidence, there were at least five occasions that Mr Rolfe used "unnecessary force" and that he had a "tendency to rush into situations to 'get his man', without regard for his and others' safety, and in disregard of his training". "There were instances where Mr Rolfe used force without proper regard for the risk of injury to persons, all of whom were Aboriginal boys or men, and significant injuries were caused to suspects because of his use of force. "When this evidence is considered together with the contempt Mr Rolfe showed for the hands-off approach of Officers Hand and Smith on 6 November 2019 [when Mr Walker threatened them with an axe], it points to Mr Rolfe prioritising a show of force over potential peaceful resolutions," the coroner found. The coroner noted "disturbing evidence" that Mr Rolfe had, on several occasions, recorded and shared videos of his uses of force during arrests. "It is clear that a significant motivation for doing so was because he was proud of, was boasting about, and wished to be celebrated for, his physical feats of tactical skill or ability," the coroner wrote. Coroner Elisabeth Armitage said the evidence she gathered over almost three years showed that Zachary Rolfe was not a "bad apple", but instead "the beneficiary of an organisation with hallmarks of institutional racism". "To be clear, many of the police officers who gave evidence to the Inquest, impressed me as curious and culturally sensitive officers who had dedicated their working lives to serving the largely Aboriginal communities they were tasked to police," the coroner found. However, after a series of "grotesque" racist mock awards were revealed at the inquest — handed out at Christmas parties by the force's most elite tactical unit — the coroner found racism was widespread. "That no police member who knew of these awards reported them, is, in my view, clear evidence of entrenched, systemic and structural racism within the NT Police," she wrote. Just hours before Kumanjayi Walker was shot, Yuendumu's local nurses had evacuated the community, fearing for their safety after a string of break-ins at their living quarters. The coroner said she was not critical of their decision to leave, but made recommendations that NT Health improve its withdrawal processes, to make it clearer to community when staff intended to leave. With no nurses in the community, Kumanjayi Walker was taken to the police station after the shooting — where he died on the floor of a police cell after receiving first aid from the officers. "After Kumanjayi was shot, the fact that there was no operational local Health Clinic to treat him, exacerbated the trauma," the coroner wrote. "Despite the suspicion of some members of the community, there was no collusion or pre-planning between NT Health and NT Police concerning the withdrawal of clinic staff from Yuendumu. "To the contrary, there was a lack of communication between Health and Police and little awareness about what the other was doing in response to the apparently targeted break-ins." The coroner found by the time Kumanjayi Walker passed away on November 9 2019, the medical retrieval flight had not yet left Alice Springs. "In those circumstances, even if the clinic had remained open, there was no possibility of his survival." The inquest's findings and formal recommendations are available in full here.
The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
Officer who shot Indigenous teen Kumanjayi Walker was racist, inquiry finds
Readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died. A Northern Territory police officer who fatally shot teenager Kumanjayi Walker six years ago was racist and worked for an organisation with hallmarks of the same attitude, a coronial inquest has found. Then-constable Zachary Rolfe shot Walker, a 19-year-old Warlpiri man, in the remote NT town of Yuendumu in 2019, sparking protests and scrutiny of policing in Indigenous communities after messages emerged in the inquiry showing officers using racial epithets and boasting of violence. Rolfe, who had been stabbed by Walker in the shoulder with a pair of scissors during the confrontation, argued his actions were in self-defence and was cleared of murder and manslaughter charges by a jury in March 2022. In findings handed down on Monday after a three-year inquiry, Northern Territory coroner Elisabeth Armitage said: 'I am satisfied that Mr Rolfe was racist and that he worked in and was the beneficiary of an organisation with hallmarks of institutional racism.' 'This was not a case of one bad apple,' she said. She said she could not exclude the possibility that Rolfe's racist attitudes 'were operative' during the confrontation and a 'contributing cause of Kumanjayi's death'. It comes despite an investigation into the Northern Territory Police Force last year finding that while there had been historical racism, there was no evidence of racist behaviour since 2015.
