Kumanjayi Walker was shot and killed by Constable Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest in November 2019. Constable Rolfe was found not guilty on all charges including murder in the NT Supreme Court.
A coronial investigation examining the death in custody was today played footage of a violent arrest Zachary Rolfe was involved in October 2019, the month before Kumanjayi Walker’s death.
Vision from Constable Rolfe’s body worn camera showed him rushing an Aboriginal man, Albert Bailey, and pushing him so that his head collided into a brick wall.
The coroner heard the impact caused a laceration so significant it needed seven stitches to close.
The footage from the night showed blood splattering onto the pavement with Mr Bailey calling out “I got wiped out for nothing”.
Constable Rolfe can be heard accusing My Bailey of head-butting his partner, but Mr Bailey’s partner is also captured on camera, showing herself to police as being injury free, with no signs of a having been attacked.
Constable Mark Sykes worked told the Coroner he had worked withe Constable Rolfe for a decade and and didn't think he was racist.
My Sykes told the hearing he was a close personal friend and long-time colleague of Constable Rolfe’s having worked with him in the Defence force and NT Police.
It was Constable Sykes who had taken Mr Bailey to the hospital on the night of the arrest, but he told the hearing he didn’t believe Constable Rolfe had used excessive force.
“I have concerns that [Mr Bailey] was injured,” Constable Sykes told the coroner.
“I also have concerns that his partner at the time had a domestic violence order withdrawn.”
He said he was also concerned that three years on from the arrest an internal investigation into the incident had still not been resolved.
Counsel Assisting Dr Peggy Dwyer asked whether a collection of text exchanges between Zachary Rolfe and his colleagues showed any evidence of mental health issues or issues with violence in the weeks leading up to the bungled arrest in Yuendumu that left 19 year old Kumanjayi Walker dead.
Dr Dwyer read out a text message from Rolfe to a colleague who was allegedly struggling with mental health issues.
Zachary Rolfe offered comfort and advice to his colleague, texting him, ‘I've only talked to you and [Constable Sykes] about my head, but even he doesn't get violent, like us.'
Rolfe’s text went on to say ‘But you're not mad, we're just different than the normal folk.’
Constable Sykes and Constable Rolfe had worked dozens of shifts together, but Sykes says they never spoke about violence or compared the level of violence in their policing styles. He said he did know Zachary Rolfe was having some issues, but never suspected he was depressed.
“He had told me that he did go and see someone and he sent a text message of a prescription,” Constable Mark Sykes said.
“He told me that he wasn’t sleeping particularly well.”
The inquest was told that the prescription was for anti-depressants, but Constable Sykes said he didn’t have any concerns about Zachary Rolfe’s mental health.
Mr Sykes apologised to Aboriginal people in the courtroom for a separate text exchange where Rolfe used a derogatory and racist reference to First Nations people.
He acknowledged other text messages from Rolfe were inappropriate, including one where he said he had a ‘licence to towel up the locals’, but Constable Sykes insisted Zachary Rolfe was not a racist.
“I do accept everything you just said,” Constable Sykes said.
“I can see the picture that we’re forming here, but at the end of the day I worked with [Zachary Rolfe] for 10 years, and I haven’t seen this evidenced in the community.”
The hearing continues with Zachary Rolfe expected to take the stand next month.
