Australian police officer who fatally shot Indigenous teenager was racist, coroner finds

By Christine Chen

SYDNEY (Reuters) -An Australian police officer who fatally shot an Indigenous teenager during an attempted arrest in 2019 was racist and worked in an environment "with hallmarks of institutional racism", a coroner has found.

The killing of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker by then-Police Constable Zachary Rolfe in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu sparked protests and renewed scrutiny of Australia's treatment of its First Nations people.

Rolfe, who had been stabbed by Walker in the shoulder with a pair of scissors during the confrontation, argued his actions were in self defence and was cleared of murder and manslaughter charges by a jury in March 2022.

A mandatory coronial inquest into Walker's death in custody began six months later and stretched for more than three years.

In findings handed down on Monday, Northern Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage said: "I am satisfied that Mr Rolfe was racist and that he worked in and was the beneficiary of an organisation with hallmarks of institutional racism."

"This was not a case of one bad apple," she said.

She said she could not exclude the possibility that Rolfe's racist attitudes “were operative” during the confrontation and a “contributing cause of Kumanjayi's death”.

It comes despite an investigation into the Northern Territory Police Force last year finding that while there had been historical racism, there was no evidence of racist behaviour since 2015.

Armitage said Rolfe also had an interest in “adrenaline-style policing” with a tendency to use excessive force and "dehumanise" suspects. She said this “may have led him to error” when arresting Walker.

Rolfe was dismissed as an officer in 2023, after criticising the Northern Territory Police Force and the coronial process.

Rolfe's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Northern Territory Police Force said it had started anti-racism strategies during the inquest and would examine the coroner's recommendations in consultation with Indigenous leaders.

Indigenous Australians are one of the most incarcerated groups in the world.

Over 500 Indigenous Australians have died in custody since a royal commission in 1991 made 339 recommendations to prevent such deaths.

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)