Zachary Rolfe considers appeal of findings in Kumanjayi Walker police shooting inquest

Australia Broadcast Center

10-07-2025

Former Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe is considering legal action to have a coroner's report that found his fatal attempted arrest of an Aboriginal man may have been influenced by racism thrown out by the Supreme Court.
Note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of Indigenous people who have died, used with the permission of their families.
NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage found Mr Rolfe had "needlessly" put himself in danger by "creating a situation that justifies the use of deadly force" before he shot Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu in 2019.
An NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe on all charges in 2022, with his lawyers arguing he fired the shots in self-defence after Mr Walker stabbed the then-officer in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.
In handing down her inquest findings on Monday, Judge Armitage said Mr Walker's death was avoidable and that "Mr Rolfe's racist attitudes" may have been "a contributing cause".
"Mr Rolfe did not adhere to all of the use of force policies, procedures and training during his involvement with Kumanjayi Walker," she said.
"Crucially, he did not adhere to the 10 operational safety principles and he ignored the key lessons of the Tactical Operations Manual."
But in a statement released through his lawyers, Mr Rolfe rejected criticisms that he ignored his training, saying "insofar as some may hold a view to the contrary, this was never about race".
"Constable Rolfe was violently stabbed despite his polite and calm disposition, all of which is self-evident from the body-worn video that he wore when this incident occurred," the statement said.
"The evidence was that it was not a minor injury, it could have been lethal."
The coroner also found Mr Rolfe was "not an entirely credible witness", rejecting his account that Kumanjayi Walker's hand was on his firearm when Mr Rolfe reached for it during the attempted arrest.
The first time Mr Rolfe publicly voiced the claim was during his murder trial, two years after the shooting.
Judge Armitage said "if [it] were true", it would have likely formed part of earlier accounts he gave of the incident, including an interview with a "sympathetic" journalist in the weeks after Mr Walker's death.
"Having reviewed the available evidence, I am firmly satisfied that the account given by Mr Rolfe about Kumanjayi's hand being on his Glock cannot be accepted," she wrote.
In his statement, Mr Rolfe said he "does not accept there was any dishonesty at all associated with these events".
Throughout the coroner's investigation, Mr Rolfe and his legal team launched several unsuccessful appeals and legal arguments, broadly seeking to narrow the scope of the inquest.
On several occasions, they argued the coroner's decision to accept evidence about Mr Rolfe's prior use-of-force, use of racist language in text messages and earlier, failed applications to other police forces were irrelevant to Mr Walker's death.
In his statement, Mr Rolfe said the inquest "might be the appropriate vehicle for the Supreme Court to give clear guidance as to the proper scope of a coronial inquest and what evidence is relevant to it".
"The true purpose of a coronial inquest is to establish the cause and circumstance of death, and in this case the Coroner went far beyond her remit," he said.
Mr Rolfe's lawyer, Luke Officer, later told the ABC that "the Supreme Court has the power to declare findings void, either in part or in whole".
"We are looking at the scope of inquiry, the receipt of evidence, all of the coroner's rulings against Mr Rolfe, some or all of the findings and including the decision to deliver the findings at Yuendumu," he said.
Monash University law professor Marc Trabksy said there were "strict rules" about when someone could challenge a coroner's findings, making appeals both "rare" and "rarely upheld".
Dr Trabsky said a person who had been identified in a coroner's findings could appeal directly to the Supreme Court, but it was a "high bar" to establish new facts or evidence.
"In the Northern Territory, once again this is rare, but there can be appeals based on other questions of law … that findings made by the coroner were against the evidence and the weight of the evidence," he said.
"An appeal against findings typically does not include recommendations or comments made by the coroner because they're not binding and don't have legal consequences."
Dr Trabsky said recent Victorian inquests into the deaths of Tanya Day and Veronica Nelson had expanded the scope of comments made by coroners, including "on issues such as the role of racism in decision-making that may have led to a death in custody".
"It's generally accepted that the scope of an inquest can include comments on, for example, the role of racism in decision-making or human rights issues," he said.
Since leaving the force, Mr Rolfe has founded a consultancy firm and is available as a public speaker, with his management company profile billing him as "soldier, policeman, hero".
"His forthcoming book and speaking engagements continue to inspire and influence individuals across sectors, making him a compelling figure in discussions on leadership and resilience," it reads.
"Zach Rolfe's journey from soldier to police officer, through a high-profile trial, and on to a new career as a private investigator underscores his enduring commitment to service, bravery and the pursuit of justice."