Kumanjayi Walker inquest: ‘racist’ text messages from police officer’s phone allowed as evidence

An inquest into the police killing of Kumanjayi Walker will consider whether racism may have played a role in the incident. Photograph: Supplied by his family

The coroner investigating the police shooting death of Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker said she will consider whether racism may have played a role in the incident, rejecting arguments from police legal teams it is not sufficiently central to the investigation.

Walker, 19, was shot three times by Constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu in November 2019. Rolfe was found not guilty of murder and two alternative charges after a six-week trial in the NT supreme court in Darwin.