24 hours / 7 days

National Legal Hotline

Call us now for immediate legal assistance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All areas of law, Australia-wide

National Legal Hotline

24 hours / 7 days

Call us now for immediate legal assistance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All areas of law, Australia-wide

Call us now

Home Blog Coroner Finds Walker’s Death Was Preventable (NT)

Coroner Finds Walker’s Death Was Preventable (NT)

On 7 July 2025, the NT coroner Elizabeth Armitage handed down her findings on the death of Kumanjayi Walker, who died after a confrontation with police in 2019. The findings included 32 recommendations aimed at preventing other deaths of Aboriginal people at the hands of the NT Police. This page summarises the findings and their reception by the community.

Death of Kumanjayi Walker

19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker died in 2019 after being shot by Zachary Rolfe, who was then a police constable, at a house in Yuendumu while police were attempting to arrest him.

Rolfe was one of four police officers who travelled from Alice Springs to Yuendumu to arrest the youth, who had breached a suspended sentence and failed to attend a court-ordered rehabilitation program. The arrest was carried out without consultation with community elders and occurred late at night at a time of cultural mourning.

When the police approached Walker in his house, he stabbed Rolfe in the shoulder with a pair of scissors. Rolfe shot Walker three times within a few seconds. The third shot is believed to have killed him.

Walker died at the police station later that night without receiving prompt medical attention. There were no medical staff in Yuendumu at the time.

Rolfe was subsequently tried for murder, based on the second and third shots he fired, which the prosecution argued were not justified in self-defence. However, a jury acquitted Rolfe of both murder and manslaughter on the basis of self-defence.

The Coroner’s findings

After an inquest that continued for almost three years, the Coroner found that Walker’s death was preventable.

The Coroner found that there had been serious failures in police conduct, communication, planning and cultural awareness, as well as systemic racism and lack of cultural understanding among the Alice Springs police, and particularly a lack of respect for Aboriginal community protocols.

The Coroner found that the police’s use of force had been excessive, with the second and third shots fired by Rolfe being legally unjustified. However, she noted that Rolfe had been acquitted of murder and manslaughter and could not be prosecuted again.

The Coroner also found that there had been a lack of appropriate medical support, with inadequate provision of first aid having contributed to Walker’s death.

Recommendations

The Coroner’s findings included a total of 32 recommendations geared towards resetting the relationship between NT Police and Aboriginal communities and building an era of accountability, cultural understanding and co-operation.

Some of the key recommendations she outlined were as follows:

that NT police culture be reformed, with an acknowledgement of systemic racism within the force, and systemic measures implemented to combat this, as well as the establishment of independent cultural competency audits and long-term reform strategies
that community policing be improved, with greater reliance on and integration of Aboriginal Community Police Officers (ACPOs) and with arrest planning that involves elders, families, and local services.
that police review their use of force protocols, especially with regard to the use of firearms in close-contact arrests and improved accountability for unjustified use of force.
that policies be put in place to ensure continuity of medical services in remote communities, including during perceived safety threats.
that body-worn cameras continue to be rolled out, and strict policies put in place for their use to promote transparency and accountability in incidents involving the use of force.
that compulsory drug and alcohol testing be introduced for all officer involved in critical incidents.
that the use of AR -15 rifles and similar weapons be limited in Indigenous communities.
that there be stronger independent police oversight – however, the Coroner did not go so far as to recommend the establishment of an independent body to oversee the NT Police.

Community responses

The Coroner’s findings have been welcomed for ‘putting into sharp relief the violence of the police force’ through its investigation of the attitudes and conduct of Zachary Rolfe as well as the police culture at the Alice Springs Station in which racism was ‘normalised’ and racist language and stereotypes routinely used.

However, the recommendations have also been criticised for not going far enough.

Aboriginal community legal service, NAAJA, has criticised the findings for failing to recommend the establishment of an independent oversight body to hold the NT Police to account.

The findings have also been criticised by academics Thalia Antony and Eddie Cubillo for failing to recommend any of the following:

disciplinary action for any of the officers involved in Walker’s death
consequences for police with a history of using force on Indigenous people or those who exhibit racism
that the NT police not carry firearms in Indigenous communities
that funds be redirected to law and justice groups controlled by Indigenous communities.

If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Go To Court Lawyers.

Fernanda Dahlstrom

Content Editor

Fernanda Dahlstrom is a writer, editor and lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Latrobe University), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law), a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Master of Arts (Deakin University). Fernanda practised law for eight years, working in criminal law, child protection and domestic violence law in the Northern Territory, and in family law in Queensland.

24 hours / 7 days

National Legal Hotline

National Legal Hotline

24 hours / 7 days

Coroner Finds Walker’s Death Was Preventable (NT)

Death of Kumanjayi Walker

The Coroner’s findings

Recommendations

Community responses

Fernanda Dahlstrom

Related Law Topics