By Neve Brissenden in Darwin

TWO days before he shot dead an indigenous teenager, embattled former NT police officer Zachary Rolfe told an indigenous woman she told a “silly story” when she called police about her violent partner.

Kumarn Rubuntja was murdered by Malcolm Abbott in January 2021 in Alice Springs, after he ran her over outside an emergency department in a fit of rage. He was sentenced to life in prison in April last year.

The inquest into her death began on Monday, with evidence that in the two years leading up to her death police responded to 22 domestic violence-related incidents between the pair.

Several of those callouts were attended by Mr Rolfe, who on some occasions responded “inappropriately”, NT police admitted.

Days before he shot 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker dead in Yuendemu, north-west of Alice Springs, he responded to a call made by Ms Rubuntja.

“He’s trying to do a suicide, he’s trying to stab himself… he’s trying to suicide himself, what did I do?” Ms Rubuntja said in her triple-zero call in November 2019.

In body-worn footage shown to the court, Mr Rolfe attended the location and was greeted by Abbott at the front of the house.

“She being annoying, hey… do you wanna stab yourself?” Mr Rolfe asked Abbott.

“Nah, nothing,” Abbott replied.

The officer then went inside and spoke to Ms Rubuntja.

“Why did you call us? Now you’re going to lose all your grog just because you called us and made a silly story,” he told her.

Ms Rubuntja pleaded with Mr Rolfe, telling him: “He tried to…” but did not finish her sentence.

Mr Rolfe and several other males were heard erupting into laughter.

“No he didn’t, no he didn’t,” Mr Rolfe said.

The officer then began searching for alcohol around the house, eventually finding some in the bathroom.

“You gonna have some shower beers later?” he asked Ms Rubuntja jokingly.

Multiple experts have told the inquest that men threatening suicide and self-harm can be an example of coercive control and manipulation in relationships.

The inquest heard at the time of the incident, a permanent alert was against Ms Rubuntja’s name which read “may make false complaints”, placed there by another officer in July 2019.

The alert was despite Abbott’s extensive criminal history, which included serving jail time for killing one woman in 1997 and stabbing at least three others.

On several occasions, Ms Rubuntja called police on her violent partner, but once they arrived she told them nothing had happened.

NT police told the inquest the alert system has been stopped, acknowledging there were multiple reasons a victim would deny claims they made earlier.

“We know family violence is very complex and there are many reasons why a victim may not say the same thing she did on a call when police arrive,” Supt Kirsten Engels told the inquest.

“The benefit doesn’t outweigh the issues so we have removed that from being able to be put on any future person’s ID.”

Supt Engels said the “more junior and less experienced officers” may have formed some “pre-thought” if they saw that alert.

When questioned by counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer, Supt Engels said Mr Rolfe’s comments were “inappropriate”.

“There’s one thing to be respectful and polite, there is no need to lead with something like that,” she said.

Mr Rolfe was found not guilty of murdering Mr Walker following a five-week trial in 2022.

The Walker inquest resumes later this year when Mr Rolfe is scheduled to give evidence, pending the outcome of his appeal against a Supreme Court decision that he could be compelled to take the stand.

The inquest into Ms Rubuntja’s death continues on Tuesday.

It is the fourth and final death of an indigenous woman in a series being examined by NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage as part of Australia’s largest coronial inquest into domestic violence.

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