The primary role of the elite Northern Territory police unit a murder-accused constable belonged to when he fatally shot a 19-year-old Aboriginal man was to cordon and contain offenders.
Constable Zachary Rolfe, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Kumanjayi Walker during a failed arrest attempt in Yuendumu, 290km northwest of Alice Springs, late on November 9, 2019.
Rolfe shot the 19-year-old three times after Mr Walker resisted being put in handcuffs and stabbed the constable in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.
Prosecutors say his Immediate Response Team (IRT) had ignored senior officers’ orders to wait until 5.30am the following day to arrest the young man when he could be more easily taken into custody.
The unit’s commander, Sergeant Lee Bauwens, told the Supreme Court in Darwin the part-time team’s main job was “cordoning a situation which has been declared a high-risk situation”.
“They cordon and manage that situation until further resources arrive, namely (the tactical response group),” he said.
Sgt Bauwens said the IRT was not as highly trained as the TRG.
“TRG do bomb disposal, close personal protection, search and rescue, diving, and (the IRT) response is basically limited to a cordon and containment section.”
Prosecutors say Rolfe and three other IRT officers sent to Yuendumu were “intent” on arresting Mr Walker after watching body-worn camera footage of him violently threatening two other officers with an axe three days earlier.
They found him at his grandmother’s home 15 minutes after leaving the local police station, where the officer-in-charge, Sergeant Julie Frost, allegedly handed them a printed arrest plan ordering them to perform general duties until the next day.
Mr Walker lied about his name and wrestled with another officer before stabbing Rolfe in his left shoulder.
He died on the floor of the local police station 74 minutes after the second fatal shot left a “gaping hole” in his right lung and ripped through his spleen, liver and left kidney.
The Crown has conceded the first shot, which was fired while Mr Walker was standing and resisting arrest, was justified.
It says the second and third shots went “too far” because the 19-year-old was “effectively restrained” on the ground by another officer when Rolfe pulled the trigger.
Prosecutor Philip Strickland SC has repeatedly asked members of Rolfe’s team why they did not pull back after they found Mr Walker and place a cordon around his house.
The trial continues on Thursday.
AAP
