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

[Trooper]

Murder-accused NT cop's 'made up' evidence | Northern Beaches Review | Manly, NSW

"There is an obvious explanation why he does not say 'gun' at the time ... and that is because that never happened.

"He made it up."

Mr Strickland told the jury that if it accepted the lie about Mr Walker's hand being on his gun it was "extremely damaging to the assessment of (Rolfe's) credibility" that he also believed Sgt Eberl's life was in danger and that he was being stabbed in the chest and neck.

He also reminded the court that Sgt Eberl was not actually stabbed during the incident.

Mr Strickland also questioned why Rolfe had gone into Mr Walker's dark home in the early evening in search of the teen.

"Why did he close that reactive distance?" he said.

He said it was a poor tactical decision and it would have been safer to call the teen outside where the officers could "avert immediate danger" through distance.

"It was because he wanted to arrest Kumanjayi Walker there and then," he said.

 

[Trooper]

Murder-accused NT cop's 'made up' evidence | Northern Beaches Review | Manly, NSW

"He did not want to cordon and contain. He did not want to negotiate a surrender.

"His mindset at that time was that if there was to be any resistance by Kumanjayi Walker, any presentation of a weapon ... he would draw his firearm and use it."

The jury has heard that Rolfe pulled the trigger the first time after the teen had lied about his identity and stabbed the constable in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.

The Crown concedes the first shot, fired while Mr Walker was standing and wrestling with Sgt Eberl, was justified.

But it says the second and third shots into the teen's torso, which are the subject of the murder charge, as he struggled against Sgt Eberl on the ground went "too far".

Mr Walker died about an hour after the second shot ripped through his spleen, lung, liver and a kidney.

 

[Trooper]

The closing address continues.

Australian Associated Press

 

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The Crown added they could also consider the third charge of doing a violent act causing death “if you’re not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt about the intention in relation to murder or in relation to manslaughter.”

Mr Strickland asked the jury to consider the central issue in the Crown case, ”was he legally justified in firing the second and third shots?”

He said the Crown must also disprove three main elements of Constable Rolfe’s defence; that he acted in self-defence, he was acting in the course of his duty as a police officer, and it was “reasonably necessary to fire the second and third shots to carry out his functions as a police officer.”

Mr Strickland told the jury the crown case boiled down to two things.

“That Constable Eberl in fact had effectively restrained Kumanjayi Walker when he was on top of him on the mattress”

 

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In his final address to the jury, Crown Prosecutor Philip Strickland SC said Constable Rolfe intentionally engaged in conduct that intended to kill or cause serious harm to Kumanjayi Walker when he shot and killed the 19 year-old at Yuendumu on November 9, 2019.

“When the accused fired the first and second shots he intended either to cause serious harm or death to Kumanjayi Walker.”

Mr Strickland advised the jury that if they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Constable Rolfe was not “thinking at all about whether he intended to kill or cause serious harm” but his actions “were either reckless or negligent” they could consider the charge of manslaughter.

 

[Trooper]

Mr Strickland asked the jury to consider the central issue in the Crown case, ”was he legally justified in firing the second and third shots?”

He said the Crown must also disprove three main elements of Constable Rolfe’s defence; that he acted in self-defence, he was acting in the course of his duty as a police officer, and it was “reasonably necessary to fire the second and third shots to carry out his functions as a police officer.”

Mr Strickland told the jury the crown case boiled down to two things.

“That Constable Eberl in fact had effectively restrained Kumanjayi Walker when he was on top of him on the mattress”

And that, “the accused did not hold an honest belief that it was necessary for him to fire the second and third shots in order to protect himself – those two shots were not a reasonable response.“

Mr Strickland told the jury the evidence before them proves that Constable Rolfe did not see Kumanjayi Walker stabbing Constable Eberl’s and he did not fear for his partner's life when he fired shots two and three.

 

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“The evidence the accused gave in court was a lie and the accused lied to justify the unjustifiable. “

Once the prosecution concludes, the defence will deliver their final address before the judge sums up the case and sends the jury out to decide on their verdict.

 

[Trooper]

NT cop's murder trial 'unjustifiable' | Northern Beaches Review | Manly, NSW Mr Edwardson, QC is Rolfe's barrister and his summing up for defence began today, and may continue tomorrow..


''''An Aboriginal teenager was "in many respects the author of his own misfortune" when shot dead by a Northern Territory policeman, his murder trial has been told.

Senior police have "thrown everything at Zachary Rolfe" to justify charging him with murdering Kumanjayi Walker without "any meaningful investigation", defence lawyer David Edwardson QC says.


Constable Rolfe, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Walker as he resisted arrest in Yuendumu, 290km northwest of Alice Springs.

Mr Edwardson QC told the Northern Territory Supreme Court on Wednesday the death of the 19-year-old on November 9, 2019 was a tragedy.



"A young man has lost his life and a young courageous police officer has been charged with the most serious charge known to criminal law," he said during his closing address.

He said his client was arrested within four days of the shooting without a "meaningful or proper investigation".

"That, you might think, is a disgrace," he said.

 

[Trooper]

NT cop's murder trial 'unjustifiable' | Northern Beaches Review | Manly, NSW

"The executive of the NT police force and those they have deployed to justify these charges have thrown everything at Zach Rolfe because it was a decision that should never have been made."

He said Mr Rolfe's prosecution was the NT police force executive attempting to "justify what was unjustifiable".

Mr Edwardson also took aim at the NT police force's treatment of the officer-in-charge at Yuendumu, Sergeant Julie Frost, saying the NT police force had "thrown her under the bus" and she was also a "victim of this appalling investigation".

"They had 841 plus days since the decision was made to charge Zach Rolfe and actually produce a case," he said.

"The Crown produced 40 witnesses to support the narrative that Rolfe, a police officer, was guilty of murder.

"We say they have not come close."

 

[Trooper]

NT cop's murder trial 'unjustifiable' | Northern Beaches Review | Manly, NSW

Mr Edwardson said almost all witnesses had confirmed that Mr Rolfe had acted as he was trained and his response when he fired three shots was reasonable and proportionate.

"Let us be brutally frank about this young man," he said referring to Mr Walker.

"The truth of the matter is that he had a lengthy and violent criminal history."

He said Mr Walker had threatened two other police officers with an axe on November 6 "in an extraordinarily dangerous and confronting manner".

"Which of itself would have justified him being shot," he said.

"Worse still, on November 9 he deployed a lethal weapon, namely the scissors, but this time he stabbed Zach Rolfe before turning his attention to (Sergeant Adam Eberl, then a constable).

 

[Trooper]

NT cop's murder trial 'unjustifiable' | Northern Beaches Review | Manly, NSW

"He might have been a young man and for that reason if nothing else, this case is tragic but nonetheless he was dangerous and violent and in many respects the author of his own misfortune."

Mr Edwardson said when Rolfe moved to arrest Mr Walker it was "in accordance with the command he was given by the warrant".

"At that very moment Kumanjayi Walker suddenly and without notice deployed a previously hidden pair of scissors and stabbed Constable Rolfe," he said.

"If Walker had hit his carotid artery Zachary Rolfe would be dead."

Mr Edwardson described Mr Walker's attack as a "spontaneous ambush".

"When Kumanjayi Walker deliberately and, I suggest, viciously, tried to stab both officers ... the only appropriate response was to draw his firearm and pull the trigger ... until the threat was removed," he said.

He said Rolfe had acted in good faith, the reasonable performance of his duties and in the defence of himself and Sgt Eberl.

"It is for the prosecution to negate each of the three defences beyond reasonable doubt and they simply have not."

 

[Trooper]

The jury is expected to start deliberating after Justice John Burns makes his final address on Thursday.

Australian Associated Press

 

[Trooper]

I admit, I was surprised at this line of defence,...I expected a bit more originality, perhaps.. the victim being the author of their own demise is so old, so lame, so stale,... I have no idea how the jury will absorb that, they may absorb it totally, for all I know. I wouldn't , but I am not on the jury .

'He said his client was arrested within four days of the shooting without a "meaningful or proper investigation".

I did not know that Rolfe had been arrested that quickly. It took a lot longer to charge him , a few months, I think.. But it seems to me that something was off about the whole story from the start, and that 'off' perspective could only have come from the men who were at Mr Walker's house that night. Certainly, there had been tension at the HQ , with Julie Frost, of a slight nature, but the real and consequential 'offness' must have come from reports from the other 3 men in the Immediate Response Team. .. There does not appear to be any other source for this conclusion to have arrived from.

That the decision to charge Rolfe with murder could only have come from interrogation of his IR team itself. No where else.... I very much doubt that any weight would have been given to anything the people at, or around the house said. That's the NT for you.

My opinion, only, though.

 

[Trooper]

Wednesday 9/3/2022 : ABC iview


The segment about the trial begins at 11 mins. 30 seconds.. ( before that you would be subjected to a long dribble by Barnaby Joyce, not recommended .)

 

[Trooper]

Murder-accused NT cop trial jury retires | 7NEWS

The jury at a murder-accused policeman's trial after he fatally shot an Aboriginal teenager during an outback arrest has retired to consider its verdicts.

Constable Zachary Rolfe, 30, denies murdering Kumanjayi Walker after the teen stabbed him with a pair of scissors on November 9, 2019.

He also pleaded not guilty to the two alternative charges of manslaughter and violent act causing death.

 

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Murder-accused NT cop trial jury retires | 7NEWS

Justice John Burns on Thursday told the jury that to return a guilty plea for murder it had to find Rolfe intentionally engaged in conduct that caused Mr Walker's death and he intended this to happen.

He said the Crown must also prove beyond reasonable doubt that Rolfe was not defending himself or another person and that his conduct was not reasonable in the performance of his duty as a police officer, and that he was not acting in good faith in that same job.

He said police officers are called on to make split second decisions and often do not have the "luxury of time to reflect, particularly when confronted by violent offenders".

"It would be contrary to the public interest if police officers were deterred from making these often crucial decisions by the threat of criminal prosecution," he said.

"For this reason they are provided by a measure of legal protection while acting in the course of their duties."

 

[Trooper]

Murder-accused NT cop trial jury retires | 7NEWS

Justice Burns instructed the jury to consider what actually happened on November 9 and Rolfe's perception of what was happening as it occurred.

He also said it must be fearless and not let sympathy or feelings about Rolfe or Mr Walker or others' views affect the verdict.

The four-and-a-half week trial has heard evidence from about 40 witnesses. Jurors have also repeatedly been shown police body-worn camera footage of the shooting.

The Crown said senior police sent Rolfe and four other officers from Alice Springs to patrol the community of about 800 on the evening Mr Walker died.

They were also ordered to gather intelligence about the teen's location and arrest him early the following morning when he was likely to be sleeping and easily taken into custody.

Instead, they tracked Mr Walker down at his grandmother's home within 15 minutes of leaving the Yuendumu police station.

Police video shows Mr Walker lie about his identity before Rolfe and Sgt Eberl, then a constable, attempt to handcuff him as a scuffle breaks out.

The teen then stabs Rolfe in his shoulder with a pair of scissors before the constable fires one shot into his back.

He fires the next two shots in quick succession 2.6 seconds later.


Mr Walker died about an hour after the second shot ripped through his spleen, lung, liver and a kidney.

Prosecutor Philip Strickland SC has said Sgt Eberl was effectively restraining Mr Walker on the ground at the time.

He said Rolfe was on a mission to track the teen down after he watched a video of him violently threatening other officers with an axe on November 6.

Rolfe has told the jury he felt Mr Walker's hand on his police pistol and spotted him stabbing Sgt Eberl in the chest and neck, and that he feared for his and his partner's lives.

 

[brissygirl2019]

Just on the topic of when Rolfe was charged with murder, I have memory of the charge being laid fairly quickly after the night of the incident. A matter of days is what I recall, I will have a look around & see if I can find confirmation of that.

 

[brissygirl2019]

And the jury is now out to consider the verdict

Judge urges jurors to ‘guard against’ emotion when considering verdict in Zachary Rolfe murder trial


Judge urges jurors to ‘guard against’ emotion when considering verdict in Zachary Rolfe murder trial

A jury has retired to consider its verdict in the case of the Northern Territory constable charged with the murder of Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker

 

[Trooper]

Just on the topic of when Rolfe was charged with murder, I have memory of the charge being laid fairly quickly after the night of the incident. A matter of days is what I recall, I will have a look around & see if I can find confirmation of that.

Yes, please.. I only know that Rolfe resisted talking to the police about the matter. The other three did. It took a fair while, and from that I figured he had not been charged so quickly. But, not so, apparently. In fact, I don't think he ever did talk to the police about it at all. That may have some bearing as to the indictment being so major.

I have no guesses as to how long the jury will stay out. Could be until next week. There is a lot to consider and weigh up.