Latest news with #Warlpiri-Luritja
The Advertiser
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Family hopes for change as inquest draws to an end
The family of a teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer are calling for "truth, accountability and justice" following a years-long coronial inquest. Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at a home in the Northern Territory town of Yuendumu, in November 2019. The death of the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man devastated the community, Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said. "We miss him and feel his loss deeply every single day, it will stain our country for generations to come," she said in a statement. In March 2022, an NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe of murdering Mr Walker. He has since left the police force. Over the course of the coronial inquest, which has faced several delays, text messages between Mr Rolfe and colleagues, littered with derogatory language were revealed, as were racist award certificates, which triggered a probe in early 2024 by the NT corruption watchdog. It has been a gruelling, shocking and devastating process for family and the community, Ms Fernandez-Brown said, as they prepare for Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's findings, to be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday. "Racism killed Kumanjayi. Racism from NT Police, the NT government, from Zachary Rolfe," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. "Yet none of them have ever been held to account for Kumanjayi's death. "We are heartbroken and exhausted after many long years, but we are hoping change is coming." During the inquest, Mr Walker's family called for an independent police ombudsman to be established, self-determination for Yuendumu and other Aboriginal communities, investment in culturally-safe alternatives to prison and punitive policing, the banning of guns in community and a reckoning with the over-incarceration of Aboriginal people in the territory. Senior Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said if the NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole or other officers intended on going to Yuendumu for the findings, they should come without guns, and no "empty words". "If he (Dole) is just coming to say sorry he is not welcome - how many times have they said sorry and still harmed us," Mr Hargraves said. "If Dole comes with news of real change that would be different. If he said police would put down their guns like we wanted, yes, he would be welcome. "But they are now giving out more guns to more police to shoot our people." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 The family of a teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer are calling for "truth, accountability and justice" following a years-long coronial inquest. Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at a home in the Northern Territory town of Yuendumu, in November 2019. The death of the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man devastated the community, Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said. "We miss him and feel his loss deeply every single day, it will stain our country for generations to come," she said in a statement. In March 2022, an NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe of murdering Mr Walker. He has since left the police force. Over the course of the coronial inquest, which has faced several delays, text messages between Mr Rolfe and colleagues, littered with derogatory language were revealed, as were racist award certificates, which triggered a probe in early 2024 by the NT corruption watchdog. It has been a gruelling, shocking and devastating process for family and the community, Ms Fernandez-Brown said, as they prepare for Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's findings, to be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday. "Racism killed Kumanjayi. Racism from NT Police, the NT government, from Zachary Rolfe," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. "Yet none of them have ever been held to account for Kumanjayi's death. "We are heartbroken and exhausted after many long years, but we are hoping change is coming." During the inquest, Mr Walker's family called for an independent police ombudsman to be established, self-determination for Yuendumu and other Aboriginal communities, investment in culturally-safe alternatives to prison and punitive policing, the banning of guns in community and a reckoning with the over-incarceration of Aboriginal people in the territory. Senior Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said if the NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole or other officers intended on going to Yuendumu for the findings, they should come without guns, and no "empty words". "If he (Dole) is just coming to say sorry he is not welcome - how many times have they said sorry and still harmed us," Mr Hargraves said. "If Dole comes with news of real change that would be different. If he said police would put down their guns like we wanted, yes, he would be welcome. "But they are now giving out more guns to more police to shoot our people." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 The family of a teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer are calling for "truth, accountability and justice" following a years-long coronial inquest. Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at a home in the Northern Territory town of Yuendumu, in November 2019. The death of the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man devastated the community, Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said. "We miss him and feel his loss deeply every single day, it will stain our country for generations to come," she said in a statement. In March 2022, an NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe of murdering Mr Walker. He has since left the police force. Over the course of the coronial inquest, which has faced several delays, text messages between Mr Rolfe and colleagues, littered with derogatory language were revealed, as were racist award certificates, which triggered a probe in early 2024 by the NT corruption watchdog. It has been a gruelling, shocking and devastating process for family and the community, Ms Fernandez-Brown said, as they prepare for Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's findings, to be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday. "Racism killed Kumanjayi. Racism from NT Police, the NT government, from Zachary Rolfe," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. "Yet none of them have ever been held to account for Kumanjayi's death. "We are heartbroken and exhausted after many long years, but we are hoping change is coming." During the inquest, Mr Walker's family called for an independent police ombudsman to be established, self-determination for Yuendumu and other Aboriginal communities, investment in culturally-safe alternatives to prison and punitive policing, the banning of guns in community and a reckoning with the over-incarceration of Aboriginal people in the territory. Senior Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said if the NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole or other officers intended on going to Yuendumu for the findings, they should come without guns, and no "empty words". "If he (Dole) is just coming to say sorry he is not welcome - how many times have they said sorry and still harmed us," Mr Hargraves said. "If Dole comes with news of real change that would be different. If he said police would put down their guns like we wanted, yes, he would be welcome. "But they are now giving out more guns to more police to shoot our people." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 The family of a teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer are calling for "truth, accountability and justice" following a years-long coronial inquest. Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at a home in the Northern Territory town of Yuendumu, in November 2019. The death of the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man devastated the community, Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said. "We miss him and feel his loss deeply every single day, it will stain our country for generations to come," she said in a statement. In March 2022, an NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe of murdering Mr Walker. He has since left the police force. Over the course of the coronial inquest, which has faced several delays, text messages between Mr Rolfe and colleagues, littered with derogatory language were revealed, as were racist award certificates, which triggered a probe in early 2024 by the NT corruption watchdog. It has been a gruelling, shocking and devastating process for family and the community, Ms Fernandez-Brown said, as they prepare for Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's findings, to be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday. "Racism killed Kumanjayi. Racism from NT Police, the NT government, from Zachary Rolfe," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. "Yet none of them have ever been held to account for Kumanjayi's death. "We are heartbroken and exhausted after many long years, but we are hoping change is coming." During the inquest, Mr Walker's family called for an independent police ombudsman to be established, self-determination for Yuendumu and other Aboriginal communities, investment in culturally-safe alternatives to prison and punitive policing, the banning of guns in community and a reckoning with the over-incarceration of Aboriginal people in the territory. Senior Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said if the NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole or other officers intended on going to Yuendumu for the findings, they should come without guns, and no "empty words". "If he (Dole) is just coming to say sorry he is not welcome - how many times have they said sorry and still harmed us," Mr Hargraves said. "If Dole comes with news of real change that would be different. If he said police would put down their guns like we wanted, yes, he would be welcome. "But they are now giving out more guns to more police to shoot our people." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
Perth Now
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Family hopes for change as inquest draws to an end
The family of a teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer are calling for "truth, accountability and justice" following a years-long coronial inquest. Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at a home in the Northern Territory town of Yuendumu, in November 2019. The death of the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man devastated the community, Mr Walker's cousin Samara Fernandez-Brown said. "We miss him and feel his loss deeply every single day, it will stain our country for generations to come," she said in a statement. In March 2022, an NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe of murdering Mr Walker. He has since left the police force. Over the course of the coronial inquest, which has faced several delays, text messages between Mr Rolfe and colleagues, littered with derogatory language were revealed, as were racist award certificates, which triggered a probe in early 2024 by the NT corruption watchdog. It has been a gruelling, shocking and devastating process for family and the community, Ms Fernandez-Brown said, as they prepare for Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's findings, to be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday. "Racism killed Kumanjayi. Racism from NT Police, the NT government, from Zachary Rolfe," Ms Fernandez-Brown said. "Yet none of them have ever been held to account for Kumanjayi's death. "We are heartbroken and exhausted after many long years, but we are hoping change is coming." During the inquest, Mr Walker's family called for an independent police ombudsman to be established, self-determination for Yuendumu and other Aboriginal communities, investment in culturally-safe alternatives to prison and punitive policing, the banning of guns in community and a reckoning with the over-incarceration of Aboriginal people in the territory. Senior Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said if the NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole or other officers intended on going to Yuendumu for the findings, they should come without guns, and no "empty words". "If he (Dole) is just coming to say sorry he is not welcome - how many times have they said sorry and still harmed us," Mr Hargraves said. "If Dole comes with news of real change that would be different. If he said police would put down their guns like we wanted, yes, he would be welcome. "But they are now giving out more guns to more police to shoot our people." 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
Perth Now
24-04-2025
- Perth Now
Findings loom on Indigenous teen fatally shot by police
A coroner will return to the outback to hand down her findings into the death of an Indigenous teenager shot by a police officer during a botched arrest. Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker died after being shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest at a home in the Northern Territory community of Yuendumu in November 2019. In March 2022, an NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe of murdering the 19-year-old. NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage in November closed her long-running inquest to consider more than 5000 pages of transcripts and 1990 pages of written submissions. An NT courts spokesperson said on Thursday that Judge Armitage would deliver her findings on June 10. Judge Armitage accepted an invitation from the Parumpurru Committee of Yuendumu to deliver her findings in the remote town where she heard some of the evidence. Counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer previously told the inquest that Mr Rolfe's character should be considered as a direct cause of death. "Mr Rolfe was a man whose ego was wrapped up in his use of force, and who took pride in and derived a sense of worth from expressing his dominance over others," she said. "They were generally Aboriginal men and he expressed that dominance with the use of force." Counsel for Northern Territory Police previously told Judge Armitage "it is absolutely undeniable that Mr Rolfe is a racist" based on his derogatory text messages about Indigenous people. Mr Rolfe's solicitor Luke Officer told the coroner racism could not be considered under the Coroner's Act, which only permits her to investigate the cause of death. "There's no need to inquire into whether racism played a part ... there is no direct evidence of that, it has no relevance to cause of death," Mr Officer said. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
ABC News
24-04-2025
- ABC News
NT coroner to deliver long-awaited findings about police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker
The long-awaited coroner's findings into the death of an Aboriginal man shot by a Northern Territory police officer in 2019 will be handed down on June 10, 2025. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Kumanjayi Walker was killed in the remote Aboriginal community of Yuendumu, 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, on November 9, 2019. Kumanjayi Walker, 19, was fatally shot by Zachary Rolfe in Yuendumu in 2019. ( Supplied ) The Warlpiri-Luritja man's death, and the subsequent prosecution of the police officer responsible, sent shockwaves through the community and made headlines across the country. Zachary Rolfe had been attempting to take Mr Walker into custody when the 19-year-old stabbed Mr Rolfe in the shoulder. The then-officer responded by firing his Glock three times. Mr Rolfe was charged with murder four days later, and was ultimately acquitted of all criminal charges — including manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death — after a six-week NT Supreme Court trial in March 2022. Zachary Rolfe was acquitted of all criminal charges in March 2022. ( ABC News: Che Chorley ) Jurors found Mr Rolfe was acting in self-defence and in line with his police training when he fired his weapon. The coronial inquest into Mr Walker's death, which is mandatory under NT law because he died in custody, has been running for more than two-and-a-half years. Coroner Elisabeth Armitage's inquiry was initially scheduled to run for three months, between September and December 2022, but the hearings ultimately stretched across 66 days — over 20 months — as 72 witnesses gave evidence. A series of unsuccessful legal appeals launched on behalf of Mr Rolfe and others, as well as a broad scope of inquiry, contributed to the delays, making it the Elisabeth Armitage says what she uncovered during the coronial inquest was "deeply disturbing." ( ABC News: Michael Franchi ) The coroner's inquiry delved well beyond the night Mr Walker was shot, as she heard evidence about both Mr Rolfe and Mr Walker's lives in the years prior to the death. She examined allegations of racism, cover-ups and excessive use of force among police, as well as the decisions made immediately before and after Mr Walker was killed. Judge Armitage described what she uncovered as "deeply disturbing". The coroner's inquiry investigated allegations of racism within the NT Police Force. ( ABC News: Pete Garnish ) Through text messages found on Mr Rolfe's phone — which he sought to have barred from the inquiry, arguing they were irrelevant — the inquest heard racist language was used among police on the Alice Springs beat. Photo shows a graphic showing a male middle-aged police officer, a young man in a white collared shirt and a woman wearing a dress The coronial inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker has finished after almost two years of hearings, leaving the Northern Territory Police Force in crisis. When Mr Rolfe gave substantial evidence to the inquest, more than a year after it began, he told the coroner such language was "normalised" among police and revealed the force's most elite unit had spent years The coronial investigation into the death in custody of the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man became the trigger for an ICAC inquiry and a string of internal investigations for the Northern Territory Police Force. He has launched an appeal of that decision. Zachary Rolfe was dismissed from the NT Police Force in 2023. ( ABC News: Michael Franchi ) After hundreds of hours of hearings, the coroner received thousands of pages of submissions from the 16 interested parties to the inquest — including Mr Walker's family, Mr Rolfe, the NT Police Force, other government agencies and community organisations. Her findings and recommendations are likely to be lengthy and will be delivered in Yuendumu, where Mr Walker died. "Coroner Armitage has accepted an invitation from the Parumpurru committee of Yuendumu to deliver her findings in Yuendumu, noting that the Local Court regularly sits in Yuendumu, and that the Coroners Court has a history of, where possible, conducting inquests, or parts of inquests, in the geographical area where a death has occurred," an NT courts spokesperson said in a statement.
