The specialist police unit that was sent to Yuendumu to arrest Kumanjayi Walker before he was fatally shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe has been disbanded, Chief Minister Michael Gunner has revealed.
Earlier this month, a jury found Constable Rolfe not guilty of murder and two alternative charges over the death of the 19-year-old Yuendumu man, who was shot three times during an attempted arrest in November 2019.
The incident occurred shortly after the Alice Springs-based Immediate Response Team (IRT) arrived in the remote desert community as part of a mission to arrest Mr Walker, who had threatened two local officers with an axe three days earlier.
During an ABC Radio Darwin interview on Tuesday, Mr Gunner was asked about his response to revelations contained in court documents that Constable Rolfe had described the IRT as "cowboy stuff with no rules" in a text message several months before the shooting.
NT Police has since confirmed to the ABC that the IRT was suspended in June 2020 and its function was being reviewed.
Mr Gunner said a separate police unit that was "highly trained and very professional" was better placed to deal with the types of deployments previously undertaken by the IRT.
"Effectively, it's the TRG [Tactical Response Group]'s job and the TRG are exceptional," he said.
"I'm not sure why [the IRT] was created to be honest, but it's now no longer in existence."
During Constable Rolfe’s trial, the jury was told the IRT had two main functions: to provide additional general support to remote communities, and to help with high-risk operations until the Darwin-based Tactical Response Group arrived.
Opposition Country Liberals leader Lia Finocchiaro called for more answers into why the IRT was disbanded.
"That's obviously an operational matter for police but it's new news to me," she said.
"There are more questions than there are answers, that's for sure."
Chief Minister considering legal action over political interference claims
Constable Rolfe was arrested and charged with murder four days after the shooting.
Shortly beforehand, Mr Gunner told a large gathering in Yuendumu that "consequences will flow".
His comment has led to claims of political interference in the prosecution of Constable Rolfe, despite Mr Gunner's assertion that he was only referring to a future coronial inquest, not the criminal investigation.
During his interview on Tuesday, he was asked whether he regretted the comment.
"I see how the [police] union have weaponised it and politicised it," he said.
"And so if you could go back in time obviously you would say different words and remove that weapon from what the union used in their arsenal in how they fought this case."
Mr Gunner also said a claim that he had met with the Director of Public Prosecutions before the charge was laid was false.
"Absolutely untrue and probably actionable," he said, referring to his consideration of legal action after Constable Rolfe made the claim in a podcast on The Australian's website.
Mr Gunner was also asked whether he supported a push by Yuendumu elders for police to no longer carry firearms in communities.
"And that's an operational decision for police."
A coronial inquest examining the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting will be held in Alice Springs in September.
