4 days ago
Kumanjayi Walker inquest findings delayed after death in custody of another Yuendumu man in Alice Springs
The long-awaited coronial findings into the 2019 death in custody of Aboriginal man Kumanjayi Walker will be delayed by a month, after the death of another Warlpiri man in Alice Springs last week.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains names and images of people who have died, used with the permission of their family.
Mr Walker, a 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man, died in 2019, after he was shot by then-Constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu, 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs.
Mr Rolfe was later acquitted of murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death after a Supreme Court trial in 2022.
A mandatory coronial inquest into the police shooting began in September 2022, examining the broad circumstances of Mr Walker's death.
Coroner Elisabeth Armitage described some of the evidence she heard as "deeply disturbing", as the inquiry unveiled allegations of widespread, systemic racism within the NT Police Force.
Her findings were due to be handed down in Yuendumu on June 10.
However, the community was plunged into grief again last week, when 24-year-old Kumanjayi White — another Warlpiri man — died in custody in Alice Springs.
Samara Fernandez-Brown, a prominent voice for Mr Walker's family and the 'Justice for Walker' campaign, said she was heartbroken and disgusted at news of another Aboriginal death in custody.
"We have been in pain since 2019 and with Kumanjayi Walker's inquest coming to an end, we were looking forward to truly beginning our healing process," Ms Fernandez-Brown, Mr Walker's cousin, said in a statement.
"This is gut-wrenching pain. It is sickening. The kind that stops you from eating and keeps you up at night.
"I can't believe this has happened to another young Warlpiri man."
Ms Armitage had been invited by members of Mr Walker's family to visit Yuendumu to hand down her findings.
With the community again in sorry business — a period of mourning after the death of an Indigenous person — the court's visit has been delayed.
Simon Fisher senior, a grandfather of both Mr Walker and Mr White, said "this is so much trauma for all of us".
"Grandson was a funny young man, a funny little character," he said in a statement.
Joyce Brown, an aunty of Mr Walker, said the fresh tragedy felt "so wrong".
"We have so much pain, this has traumatised us all over again," she said.
"We were just getting to the end of the inquest for Kumanjayi [Walker] after a really long time and now it will start all over again."
The inquest findings will now be handed down on July 7 in either Yuendumu or Alice Springs, depending on the community's wishes.
