A senior Northern Territory police officer has told an inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker that he attended a gathering at the house of the officer who shot the Warlpiri teenager because he was concerned about his welfare.
Constable Zachary Rolfe shot 19-year-old Walker three times during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu, north-west of Alice Springs, in November 2019. Rolfe was found not guilty of murder and two alternative charges after a six-week trial earlier this year.
Senior Constable Shane McCormack on Friday told a three-month inquest into the death in custody that he attended the social gathering along with other members of the incident response team present at the time of the shooting because it had been a traumatic incident and he was concerned about their welfare.
McCormack was the acting sergeant in charge of the four-man response team that was dispatched from Alice Springs to Yuendumu to arrest Walker.
Under questioning from the counsel assisting the coroner, Patrick Coleridge, McCormack said he went around to Rolfe’s house with several others “for drinks” on 11 November – two days after Rolfe killed Walker.
He also visited Rolfe in hospital the day after the shooting, where he was being treated for a minor wound, and also paid another visit to his house.
McCormack told the coroner he was concerned as a peer support officer for the police officers and that mental health support for police officers was not adequate.
“I don’t think any [support] was been provided [to Rolfe]; we’ve had a quite a major review, probably this year, about the welfare support we receive and it was found to be lacking,” McCormack told the court.
He became emotional and said his brother had died by suicide at the same age as Rolfe.
“When the incident happened, Zach was 29. When my brother killed himself, he’s 29, and nobody knows this but me,” he said. “And I’m not saying Zach exhibited anything like that but I find welfare especially with young people, very important.”
Coleridge said he was not suggesting McCormack had done anything “inappropriate” in attending the gathering and that he had the best intentions for the welfare of junior officers.
He asked McCormack if there was a “tension” in these situations with the senior officer balancing independence, objectivity and integrity of evidence with his “moral obligation” to the officers involved.
“I totally agree, yep” McCormack replied.
McCormack then apologised to the coroner and said he knew his attendance at the gathering could leave him open to criticism, but his priority was Rolfe’s welfare.
“I understand how this looks here, Your Honour, I do apologise,” he said. “It was definitely not my intention.”
He said he did not remember hearing any of the officers at the gathering discussing what had happened during the shooting or any of the events earlier on 9 November.
“I always say to people if you’re not getting paid, don’t talk about work in general,” McCormack said. “So I know if I did hear, I would have told them [that] but I can’t recall.”
McCormack was asked by Dr Ian Freckelton KC, representing the NT police force, if he agreed the gathering was “not the best idea given an investigation was under way”.
He replied: “100 percent.”
He said it was not his intention to be insensitive towards family and that his Catholic mother still lights a candle to honour them.
“Every year she has lit a candle for him and she will light one next month, it’s not like, I know that people see us as just a blue uniform … but I don’t think anyone really wished this happen,” he said.
The inquest is continuing.
