The coronial inquest into the police shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker has heard a remote clinic nurse "normalised" property crime, in the months before health staff evacuated the community of Yuendumu following a series of break-ins.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
Remote area nurse Vanessa Watts was the second health clinic staff member to give evidence to the Northern Territory coroner on Monday, telling the court she "felt safe" in her home but would "have kids in [her] yard every night".
"I'd come home from work and find knives wedged in my door or scratch marks from someone trying to get my door open," she said.
"I guess it's just normal … but it's not really normal when you go away and think about it."
'It was feeling like we were being targeted'
Ms Watts told the court she felt there had been an increase in the number of break-ins in the community in the months before Mr Walker's death in November 2019.
"[Health clinic staff] cars were getting smashed in the driveways, it was feeling like we were being targeted," she said.
"I didn't know why."
Police have previously told the inquest they had no evidence to suggest Mr Walker was involved in the break-ins.
The coroner heard all NT Health nurses evacuated the Yuendumu community due to safety concerns hours before Kumanjayi Walker was shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe.
Coroner Elisabeth Armitage is currently presiding over a three-month coronial inquest into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker, which comes after Constable Rolfe was found not guilty of any offence relating to the death.
The court heard Ms Watts felt that even if clinic staff had remained in Yuendumu, she didn't think they would have been able to save Mr Walker's life and she initially told police, after the shooting, the nurses would have been "crucified" if they hadn't saved him.
"I believe that the Warlpiri people have a payback system… and I believe we would have got payback," said Ms Watts.
"I can't say that I couldn't have saved him … [but] I've never been involved in a gunshot wound … I felt that he possibly couldn't have survived that. We're not an emergency trauma unit, we're just a clinic."
Ms Watt's rejected suggestions she had a "poor view" of the community, telling the coroner living in Yuendumu with her son was a "very happy experience".
Former clinic manager recalls 'distress' over shooting
The former manager of the Yuendumu health clinic has recalled the "distress" she felt the moment she learned Kumanjayi Walker had been shot by a police officer in the community, hours after all health staff had evacuated.
Nurse Luana Symonds told the coroner the Yuendumu-based team of nurses were having dinner together in Alice Springs to "debrief" about a series of break-ins at nurses' homes, when a call from community police sergeant Julie Frost came through, informing them "police have shot a community member".
Ms Symonds said she didn't have many details at the time but recalled feeling "very distressed" when she took the call around 7:30pm on the evening of November 9, 2019.
Throughout the first month of evidence, the coroner has heard nurses left the Yuendumu community hours before the shooting, after several of their homes had been broken into in the early hours of the morning.
"There'd been an attempted break-in at my property and an attempted break-in at Vanessa's [another nurse]," said nurse Louanna Symonds.
"[The nurses] were all feeling pretty unsafe with what had occurred overnight."
The coroner heard Ms Symonds had left the community a day earlier, to get smashed windows on her personal car repaired in Alice Springs.
Ms Symonds told the court she was involved in a phone meeting with the nursing staff and department managers on the morning of Saturday November 9, when the idea of health staff evacuating the community was raised.
'Insufficient concern' over nursing staff leaving, coroner hears
The coroner heard none of the three Indigenous health clinic staff were involved in the meeting, nor were they called upon to assist after the shooting.
Initially, the plan was for two nurses to remain in Yuendumu but ultimately, they all left that afternoon and nurses at the nearby Yuelamu community were to respond to any emergency call outs in Yuendumu.
"It's fair to say, isn't it, that if you think of yourself as a family member, you would rather somebody with some clinical skills who is Aboriginal than nobody there? And… it was appropriate to consider any clinic staff who were available in the community?" Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Peggy Dwyer asked.
"Absolutely," Ms Symonds agreed.
"It's not uncommon for another community to provide emergency cover for another community," said Ms Symonds.
Under examination by Dr Dwyer, Ms Symonds agreed there was a risk someone could miss out on lifesaving treatment if there were no health staff in the community.
She also agreed there had been a lack of communication and consultation with members of the Yuendumu community ahead of the nursing staff leaving for Alice Springs and that, in hindsight, "insufficient concern" had been given to the risks posed to the community without health care in the town.
"I think lessons learnt is that communication, meaningful dialogue, is extremely important," Ms Symonds said.
Remote area nurse Vanessa Watts also agreed that in "hindsight", it would have been better to leave some clinic staff in the community.
"We couldn't have prevented what had happened, but of course … you want to help," said Ms Watts.
Dr Dwyer also asked the nursing manager about a "conspiracy theory" held among some members of the Yuendumu community.
"Are you aware that some people think police arranged for the nurses to leave [Yuendumu] before the IRT [Immediate Response Team] came in?" asked Dr Dwyer.
"I am aware, it's so not true," Ms Symonds said.
"I totally understand why those thoughts were there, definitely."
In closing her evidence, Ms Symonds spoke directly to the Yuendumu community, telling them the nursing team "were there with you at the beginning with your loss and we're still here now. We constantly think of you. Be strong."
The inquest is expected to continue until December.
