The defence called Constable Rolfe as its main witness in answering the prosecution's case.Ĭonstable Rolfe told jurors he feared for his own life and then that of his partner's when he fired the fatal shots and said Mr Walker had reached for his gun during the struggle. What did the defence team say in response? It said that also meant Constable Rolfe was not acting reasonably in good faith and in the performance of his duties as a police officer. The prosecution sought to prove that Constable Rolfe did not have an honest belief that he was acting in self-defence or in defence of his partner when the second and third shots were fired. He also argued Constable Rolfe had ignored a "safer" plan by the local officer-in-charge at Yuendumu to arrest Mr Walker early the following morning and failed to follow his police training to minimise risks of confrontation. The prosecutor said Constable Rolfe became preoccupied with the idea of arresting Kumanjayi Walker after watching body-worn camera footage of the axe incident, and went into the house ready to shoot if Mr Walker resisted arrest. He said those shots were not reasonable or necessary, including in the circumstances as perceived by Constable Rolfe, and that police training dictated that non-lethal force should have been used at that point.ĭuring cross-examination Mr Strickland accused Constable Rolfe of lying in court about seeing Mr Walker stabbing Constable Eberl after the first shot was fired, in order to "justify" conduct he knew had "gone too far".Ĭonstable Rolfe said he was defending himself and his partner when the shots were fired. Prosecutors said the first shot came after Constable Rolfe had been stabbed and while Mr Walker was still on his feet and struggling with Constable Eberl.īut they said the situation "changed dramatically" after that.Ĭrown prosecutor Philip Strickland SC argued that Mr Walker was "effectively restrained" on the ground by Constable Eberl when the second and third shots were fired. The charges laid against Constable Rolfe related only to the second and third shots. ( Supplied) What did prosecutors say in the case against Constable Rolfe? ![]() Kumanjayi Walker was 19-years-old when he was fatally shot. The court heard Constable Rolfe and fellow members of the Alice Springs-based Immediate Response Team (IRT) arrived in the community in the hour before the shooting happened. Police body-worn camera vision played extensively to the jury captured the three shots fired by Constable Rolfe inside a home in the community 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs. ![]() The broad circumstances surrounding the shooting were not in dispute during the trial. ![]() ![]() What did the jury hear about what happened in Yuendumu? Here are the key facts put before the jury and the arguments made before they reached their verdict. Prosecutors said Constable Rolfe's actions were not legally justified and went against his police training. Throughout the trial, Constable Rolfe's defence team argued that the officer was defending himself and his partner when the shots were fired in the remote community of Yuendumu on Saturday November 9, 2019. He has also been found not guilty of manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death, meaning the officer has been cleared of all charges against him. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
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