By (A)manda Parkinson in Darwin

A former police officer’s ego and propensity for violence against Aboriginal men have been blamed for the shooting death of teen Kumanjayi Walker, an inquest has been told.

The loved Warlpiri-Luritja son is remembered as a child with neuro-disability, whose death was “tragic and avoidable” according to NT Police.

Counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC has delivered a two-hour closing submission in the long-running inquest into the shooting death of 19-year-old Mr Walker by then-constable Zachary Rolfe in the remote community of Yuendumu, three hours northwest of Alice Springs.

An NT Supreme Court jury found he acted in self-defence and in line with his police training, acquitting him of all charges in 2022.

On Wednesday Dr Dwyer’s submissions dissected more than two years of evidence and 1990 pages of written submissions.

She explained how his early life exemplified findings handed down by Coroner Elisabeth Armitage’s recent domestic-violence inquiry.

“In the submissions of the Brown family from the age four to 10, Kumanjayi Walker was exposed at home to a relationship … plagued by excessive alcohol consumption and domestic violence,'” Dr Dwyer said.

She made a recommendation that children in remote communities undergo neuro-development assessments by primary healthcare workers that are culturally adapted, to ensure disability supports are implemented early and prevent further risks of incarceration or criminogenic behaviours.

His experiences as a young child, and the failure to support or identify his disabilities, had increased his contact with the justice system, and she urged the coroner not to “sugar-coat”  an earlier arrest.

Three days before the shooting, Senior Constable Lanyon Smith and Senior Constable Chris Hand attempted to arrest Mr Walker who swung an axe at them, which Dr Dwyer said would have been frightening.

However, Mr Walker’s actions were not intended to cause violence but rather escape, which was evidenced by the officers’ actions that day in not pulling a weapon.

“Your Honour do not to downplay the seriousness of that,” she said.

“There’s no need too, it’s accepted that Kumanjayi was loved, was capable of great love, and that he did not have the supports that he deserved when he was growing up.”

Rather she said the actions of those officers were in stark contrast to former-constable Rolfe who was “undisciplined, ego-driven and contemptuous of authority”.

“Mr Rolfe was a man whose ego was wrapped up in his use of force and who took pride in, and derived a sense of worth from expressing his dominance over others.

“They were generally Aboriginal men and he expressed that dominance with the use of force.

“When Mr Rolfe used excessive force, he advertised it to some of his colleagues because he thought it was funny. When taken together with a myriad of examples of Mr Rolf … boasting about his use of force, that conduct is reflective of his fascination with violence.”

She said on the night of Mr Walker’s passing, Mr Rolfe made himself “a self-appointed leader,” which was consistent with his “deliberate failure to follow the arrest plan” from his supervisors.

“He told a lie because he knew the truth, which was that he had received the document, tended to prove that he was aware of the 5.30am arrest plan, and he actively knew he had deviated from that plan,” she said.

“Mr Rolfe’s account of Mr Walker reaching for his gun was an invention.”

She said that while conducting a video interview with The Australian, that included multiple takes of his account, not once did he mention that Mr Walker ever reached for his gun.

“As a result of this lie, Your Honour couldn’t accept, even on balance, that Mr Rolfe … feared for his or Constable Adam Eberl’s life.”

Reconciliation between police and community is called for, Dr Dwyer said, declaring both community and a number of officers were devastated by the actions that occurred on November 9, 2019.