NOT GUILTY Australia - Kumanjayi Walker, 19, fatally shot by LE, Yuendumu, Nov 2019

[JLZ]

Up to four mature ex-army men tackling a teenager with a bullet in him recently armed with a pair of scissors, and the only way they could defend themselves was to shoot him dead.

No.

 

[Trooper]

''Asked if he had seen an email detailing a plan to arrest Mr Walker the following morning at 5am, Senior Constable Hawkings said he could not recall.

The court has previously heard the early-morning arrest plan was developed by Yuendumu officer-in-charge, Sergeant Julie Frost, because it was considered a safer time to carry out the operation.

Asked by the prosecution whether he had made any notes about the incident, Senior Constable Hawkings told the court he jotted down his arrival time in a notebook.

However, he told the court, he no longer has the notebook and that it had gone missing.''
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Alrighty. This missing email now has gone into legend.. it seems to me that there must be an advantage to Rolfe , and conversely, a disadvantage to Julie Frost, for this email ( which I am convinced was written, printed out and copied and handed around ) to go missing from every member of that team. . My call is that the two of them, so far, Hawkings and Kirstenfeldt are plain lying ...

I think that lie is substantiated by Hawkings, ( a Snr. Constable.) not only mislaying the email, or not ever seeing it, to then , when a constable under his command shoots a person dead, in their home, while being sent merely to arrest, and that Senior Constable then writes his arrival time in a notebook and even that notebook has gone missing, .....!!!!..

That is a stretch too far for me to believe, .. consequently, I discard it as believable testimony. Which naturally makes me ask, why did he mislay these two crucial pieces of paper, in an incident that was not your everyday policing adventure?....

It is difficult to believe that Hawkings only wrote, in a notebook, his arrival time. That just is not credible.

(a) He would have been trained to write the entire sequence down.

(b) His superior officer would have told him to write it all down.

(c) His superior officers superior officer would have to the underofficer to tell Hawkings superior to write it down.

(d) Having done that, it would have been put in a locked safe. Ready for the inevitable inquest AT LEAST, much less a trial for murder by one of their own officers.

 

[Trooper]

Up to four mature ex-army men tackling a teenager with a bullet in him recently armed with a pair of scissors, and the only way they could defend themselves was to shoot him dead.

No.

No. and again.. no ..

 

[Trooper]

'NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst also gave evidence in court, saying had given verbal approval to Superintendent Jody Nobbs to deploy the IRT members.'

Again, a high ranking officer testifying for the prosecution. Who next? the actual Commissioner? the Northern Territory Minister for Police?.. a Federal Minister?...

He said the team was also being sent to allow "for the development of a plan" to arrest Mr Walker, potentially through a negotiated surrender with the assistance of family members.

Assistant Commissioner Wurst told the court he knew about Mr Walker's involvement in the axe incident three days earlier, but did not consider it to be a "high-risk" deployment for the IRT.

Well. this kind of testimony from this far up the ranks of Police in the Northern Territory makes Julie Frost's testimony concrete and indisputable, .. hard to argue with either of these two witnesses.

 

[Trooper]

Yuendumu The Trial Trailer: Zachary Rolfe stands trial for the alleged murder of Kumanjayi Walker - YouTube

this is an old clip, but I wanted to check up on why I am surprised at police appearing for the prosecution.. and it was this, way back, when the Northern Territory Police Force NTPF stated that they were, as an organisation backing their man Rolfe..


But things change. Either the perspective of the NTPF changed, or some unarguable indefensible evidence emerged that would make that claim ridiculous. .....

 

[brissygirl2019]

Or some people were gently or not so gently persuaded that they should be witnesses for the prosecution .. stranger things have happened IMO

 

[brissygirl2019]

So Senior Constable Hawkings lost his police notebook

AC Wurst was made aware of the axe attack two days prior to the night of the incident but never once viewed the body cam footage of axe attack … he did view it the day after the shooting

AC Wurst authorises the IRT deployment but does not bother to check the Walker’s past criminal history on the police’s database prior to deploying the officers

Emails go missing, police stating under oath that there was no formal briefing prior to the IRT heading out

Nurses fleeing their housing and jobs because of unsafe conditions and break ins, break ins that Frost said were led by Walker

Family (an aunt) of Walker testifying under oath that she had spoken to walker a week prior to the shooting and that he told her he didn’t mean any harm when he charged at police with an axe causing the prosecution QC to very quickly urge the interpreter to advise her that her testimony was not possible because it was chronologically incorrect .. the axe incident was two days prior to the shooting not a week prior …. She amended her testimony

So can you now tell an untruth on the stand? I thought that was perjury, but it’s okay … just amend your testimony and move on

Sorry, I think I’m ranting but this is a mess

 

[PrimeSuspect]

So Senior Constable Hawkings lost his police notebook

AC Wurst was made aware of the axe attack two days prior to the night of the incident but never once viewed the body cam footage of axe attack … he did view it the day after the shooting

AC Wurst authorises the IRT deployment but does not bother to check the Walker’s past criminal history on the police’s database prior to deploying the officers

Emails go missing, police stating under oath that there was no formal briefing prior to the IRT heading out

Nurses fleeing their housing and jobs because of unsafe conditions and break ins, break ins that Frost said were led by Walker

Family (an aunt) of Walker testifying under oath that she had spoken to walker a week prior to the shooting and that he told her he didn’t mean any harm when he charged at police with an axe causing the prosecution QC to very quickly urge the interpreter to advise her that her testimony was not possible because it was chronologically incorrect .. the axe incident was two days prior to the shooting not a week prior …. She amended her testimony

So can you now tell an untruth on the stand? I thought that was perjury, but it’s okay … just amend your testimony and move on

Sorry, I think I’m ranting but this is a mess

Where's the lie? The aunt mistakenly said a week prior instead of two days, this happened in 2019, that's quite a while ago, it's all in her statement which the QC is referring to, she probably didn't read over her statement to recall dates and times before she entered the courtroom, this happens so frequently, I've never heard it called an untruth before.
Very few witnesses, if any, can remember details without checking over the statement they gave which was recorded by a police officer at the time of the incident, or soon after.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Zachary Rolfe trial: witness saw officer holding gun ‘very close’ to Kumanjayi Walker before fatal shooting

 

[Trooper]

So Senior Constable Hawkings lost his police notebook

AC Wurst was made aware of the axe attack two days prior to the night of the incident but never once viewed the body cam footage of axe attack … he did view it the day after the shooting

AC Wurst authorises the IRT deployment but does not bother to check the Walker’s past criminal history on the police’s database prior to deploying the officers

Emails go missing, police stating under oath that there was no formal briefing prior to the IRT heading out

Nurses fleeing their housing and jobs because of unsafe conditions and break ins, break ins that Frost said were led by Walker

Family (an aunt) of Walker testifying under oath that she had spoken to walker a week prior to the shooting and that he told her he didn’t mean any harm when he charged at police with an axe causing the prosecution QC to very quickly urge the interpreter to advise her that her testimony was not possible because it was chronologically incorrect .. the axe incident was two days prior to the shooting not a week prior …. She amended her testimony

So can you now tell an untruth on the stand? I thought that was perjury, but it’s okay … just amend your testimony and move on

Sorry, I think I’m ranting but this is a mess

Being a habitual ranter myself,, BG I have a lot of appreciation for anyone else who lays a rant down.

But this whole thing is , in anyone's world, a mess, a heaving mess, it was a mess before the shooting, it will probably be a mess for time to come, but the different thing about this peculiar and frightful event is this... .


For the first time, we hear Police (NT) on the witness stand testifying for the prosecution of one of their own. Never happened before, and is only happening now because of a Supreme Court ruling that pulled out the usual defence to these events right out from under Rolfe's feet.

Is this a good thing?.. It is not , for Rolfe, no doubt about that. He has had to mount a defence to the crime of murder. That ruling cannot have been a matter of unintended consequence, as once the ruling ( that police powers can be somewhat limited, depending on circumstances ) the accusation against Rolfe was inevitable.

The ruling was deliberate and meaningful, and long overdue, and many before Rolfe have walked away from these happenings, it just got Rolfe at the wrong time. For him. For the cohort of Kuminjayi Walker's out there, it is also a turning point.

It is , for me , intensely interesting to read and hear of these police giving prosecuting testimony, under the rarified air of one of their own being in the dock for murder. .

It is uncomfortable and in some ways, distressing, but that's because it is a new thing. That it is a new thing is a terrible indictment on AU law in general, and whatever the verdict, it is truly a step forward, long overdue.

 

[Trooper]

Zachary Rolfe trial: witness saw officer holding gun ‘very close’ to Kumanjayi Walker before fatal shooting

.... good pickup again, JG... the Guardian articles are gold...


'''The shooting during an attempted arrest occurred only 15 minutes after the officers left the station, which the prosecution alleges was inconsistent with a plan which the officer in charge of the station said she had emailed to officers to arrest Walker early the following morning.

Hawkings said he could not remember seeing any email relating to his deployment to Yuendumu, or having an extensive briefing.

He said he believed the only notes he had made in his police notebook about the deployment related to the time he arrived at the station from Alice Springs, but he could not be sure as he had misplaced the notebook.

He did recall seeing a map of Yuendumu at the station, but could not recall who gave it to him. When shown CCTV footage of some of the officers at Yuendumu station picking up a document prior to leaving, he could not recall what the document was.

Strickland has previously told the court that the case against Rolfe relied not only on his actions during the shooting, but the “context” and the “steps leading up” to it, including the plan.''''


It seems to me that each entity in this police witness lineup has a distinct dividing line , between those who wrote the instructions, printed it out and made copies of it and handed it around, and those who never heard, saw , touched or read that piece of paper.. and that makes one ask why this is occurring. Who is lying about this?.. ...

 

[brissygirl2019]

Where's the lie? The aunt mistakenly said a week prior instead of two days, this happened in 2019, that's quite a while ago, it's all in her statement which the QC is referring to, she probably didn't read over her statement to recall dates and times before she entered the courtroom, this happens so frequently, I've never heard it called an untruth before.
Very few witnesses, if any, can remember details without checking over the statement they gave which was recorded by a police officer at the time of the incident, or soon after.

For sure, it's certainly possible that it was a mistake on the witnesses' part, a failed memory perhaps as it was some time ago.

I will freely admit that my first thought did not go in that direction, not sure what that says about me but hey, we all see, read & perceive things differently and that makes the world go around

However, IMO it is never a good idea to go into court unprepared, this is a big case and a lot turns on it at the end of the day

Love the thoughts here though, sure makes for interesting pondering

 

[brissygirl2019]

From your post Trooper ...

It seems to me that each entity in this police witness lineup has a distinct dividing line , between those who wrote the instructions, printed it out and made copies of it and handed it around, and those who never heard, saw , touched or read that piece of paper.. and that makes one ask why this is occurring. Who is lying about this?.. ...

I would love to know the answer to that one! I don't think we will ever know. Too much has "gone missing", "can't be recalled", important notes hidden from evidence ... he said, she said etc

And thanks for putting up with my rant, I'm a little passionate about this one

 

[Trooper]

There was something odd and off about this matter from the very moment the news of it left the remote and isolated community of Yuendumu. ..

The thing that burned me about this was , ( totally different circs from the horrible man who actually kidnapped the nurse and murdered her. but I think there is a little bit of trying to conflate that case into the broader terms of every case out of Yuendumu ) was that once Mr. Walker was shot, and found to be dead, no body said a word about it to anyone.

Not to the family, who saw the plane come and go and thought Mr .Walker was being flown off to the Alice with the police, no idea that it was his body. The police in Darwin ( HQ ) were not told until 10 hours after the incident. The IRT team ( Rolfe, Eberl, Kirstenfeldt, Hawkings ) drove back to Alice Springs, all together in the one car , without writing down everything, everything that happened from the moment they arrived at Yuendumu. .

None of that sounds right to me, which.. well. .. it burned me.

 

[brissygirl2019]

Absolutely Trooper, no, not right at all. Answers need to come out and hopefully they will, but & I may be bit pessimistic but my gut tells me the whole true facts and circumstances might never come to light

 

[JLZ]

There was something odd and off about this matter from the very moment the news of it left the remote and isolated community of Yuendumu. ..

The thing that burned me about this was , ( totally different circs from the horrible man who actually kidnapped the nurse and murdered her. but I think there is a little bit of trying to conflate that case into the broader terms of every case out of Yuendumu ) was that once Mr. Walker was shot, and found to be dead, no body said a word about it to anyone.

Not to the family, who saw the plane come and go and thought Mr .Walker was being flown off to the Alice with the police, no idea that it was his body. The police in Darwin ( HQ ) were not told until 10 hours after the incident. The IRT team ( Rolfe, Eberl, Kirstenfeldt, Hawkings ) drove back to Alice Springs, all together in the one car , without writing down everything, everything that happened from the moment they arrived at Yuendumu. .

None of that sounds right to me, which.. well. .. it burned me.

When did the IRTs drive back to Alice Springs--please--if you know?

 

[Trooper]

When did the IRTs drive back to Alice Springs--please--if you know?

... From the timeline given, and testimony, all four drove back to Alice Springs that night.. ( I suppose, on the grounds that it would not have been safe for them to stay in Yuendumu, and not enough room on the flight that came in with medic/s to treat Mr. Walker, but he was dead by the time they arrived )..... I would think to get them out of Yuendumu would have been the primary mover. Anywhere out of there.

For myself, I will always wonder what the chat was about on that 300klm drive back into the Alice.. considering they'd done 300klms drive in, a cranky talking to at the station, an expedition to arrest Mr Walker, a shooting, a killing, and the resulting uproar....hard to believe that on that probably slower drive back, another 300klms desert drive, they never discussed the situation that Rolfe was in, and indeed, a situation all four of them were now in.

Here is an interesting clip. This is from the body camera of James Kirstenfeldt.

It appears from this clip, that only Eberl and Rolfe went into the house, and Kirstenfeldt was right outside down the street a bit.. where Hawkings was, I don't know , as yet. Either on the front porch or with Kirstenfeldt away from the house..

Body camera shows moments before and after Kumanjayi Walker was shot - YouTube

 

[Trooper]

And just for background, with no conclusions drawn by me... a jury has pronounced a verdict and that is that... this from WA.

Protests after acquittal of police officer over shooting of Indigenous woman in WA | 7.30 - YouTube

 

[JLZ]

... From the timeline given, and testimony, all four drove back to Alice Springs that night.. ( I suppose, on the grounds that it would not have been safe for them to stay in Yuendumu, and not enough room on the flight that came in with medic/s to treat Mr. Walker, but he was dead by the time they arrived )..... I would think to get them out of Yuendumu would have been the primary mover. Anywhere out of there.

For myself, I will always wonder what the chat was about on that 300klm drive back into the Alice.. considering they'd done 300klms drive in, a cranky talking to at the station, an expedition to arrest Mr Walker, a shooting, a killing, and the resulting uproar....hard to believe that on that probably slower drive back, another 300klms desert drive, they never discussed the situation that Rolfe was in, and indeed, a situation all four of them were now in.

Here is an interesting clip. This is from the body camera of James Kirstenfeldt.

It appears from this clip, that only Eberl and Rolfe went into the house, and Kirstenfeldt was right outside down the street a bit.. where Hawkings was, I don't know , as yet. Either on the front porch or with Kirstenfeldt away from the house..

Body camera shows moments before and after Kumanjayi Walker was shot - YouTube

You think the evening didn't go to plan then.

 

[Trooper]

You think the evening didn't go to plan then.

aha... depends on whose plan was going to be followed.

How I think it went down. I think, the four IRT team, Eberl, Rolfe, Kirstenfeldt and Hawkings responded to the call for assistance from Yuendumu with a certain amount of resentment and aggravation. That on the way there, they boyed each other up, perhaps, floating yarns of how we did this, we did that, this is how we are going to do this, etc... only to get to Julie Frosts station and find out she had a plan, that involved hanging about until dawn, and she was going to issue them with instructions, and their own plans were nonsense. And this made Kirstenfeldt , according to two testimonies, a bit argumentative and dominating.

It seems probable to me, that Kirstenfeldt, at least, and perhaps Rolfe as well , were a bit on edge, a bit cranky, a bit aggro, a bit shonky. Things went to hell very quickly, once those four left the station.

Looking at Snr Sgt Frost's plan, it makes a lot of sense under the circumstances, she had notified her superior in Alice, and also her superior in Darwin, before the team got there. So that plan of hers was nailed down, and approved and agreed to by ranks 3 levels above her, at least. Her immediate superior, Insp. Wurst had agreed and approved..

And then we watch as the other plan unfolds. And , as bad luck would have it, the plan that was not in the operating instructions turned real bad, real soon, .. really bad, and incredibly soon, a matter of 14 minutes, all up. It couldn't have turned out worse if they had actually tried to muck things up.

There is no reason to assume that Julie Frosts plan could not have fallen into really bad consequences , really soon, also. It only takes a twist of fate, a wrong look, a mis step, an unthoughtful word... Maybe the plan of the IRT could have been successful, and none of us would be here puzzling about it.

All up, it is bad luck all round, but still, there are consequences for that, in the real world. People die, some people are held to account. ...

And in this case, that first shot , had it been the only shot, we'd all be doing something else, but there was a second and third shot, and now it's in the deepest waters of the law, of community, of consequences.