Kumanjayi Walker’s inquest findings delayed as Yuendumu mourns another death in police custody

Dechlan Brennan
Dechlan Brennan Published June 2, 2025 at 1.00pm (AWST)

The release of findings in the coronial inquest into the 2019 police shooting of Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker has been postponed by a month, following the death in custody last week of another Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White, in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.

Mr Walker, 19, was fatally shot three times at close range by then-Constable Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu.

In 2022, Mr Rolfe was acquitted of all charges, including murder and manslaughter, after a Supreme Court trial.

A mandatory coronial inquest into Mr Walker's death began later that year, led by NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage. Her findings were meant to be handed down next week, but the community has been thrown into mourning following the death of another one of their own.

Kumanjayi White, 24, was under state care and reportedly living in supported accommodation when he died last week after being restrained by two plain-clothed officers following an alleged altercation with a security guard.

The grandfather of Mr White, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said he was "devastated by the death of my Jaja (grandson), another Warlpiri man who has had his life taken at the hands of the NT police".

Mr Hargraves previously said his Jaja was "living away from his community, in town, in supported accommodation because of his disabilities, and he was very vulnerable".

His family have called for an independent investigation, which has been rejected by the police.

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Mr Walker's cousin, Samara Fernandez-Brown, has been a prominent voice for the family and has led calls for change. She said she is "heartbroken" and "disgusted" by the "inhumane and evil" treatment of Mr White.

Ms Fernandez-Brown said the "sickening" and "gut-wrenching pain" is 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," she said.

"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. But you have robbed us of that. You've thrown us right back to the start, reopening wounds that were just beginning to scab over.

"My heart is so heavy with grief for all of my of my family, and community members."

Over many months, the inquest into Mr Walker examined the broader circumstances surrounding the shooting, including systemic issues within the NT Police.

Coroner Armitage described some of the evidence presented as "deeply disturbing," including allegations of racism and violence within the force.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Peggy Dwyer, previously told the court Mr Rolfe's character was directly linked to the shooting, describing him as someone whose "ego was wrapped up in his use of force" and who derived "a sense of worth from expressing his dominance over others," particularly Aboriginal men.

Evidence submitted to the inquest included text messages containing racist slurs. Counsel for the NT Police conceded, "It is absolutely undeniable that Mr Rolfe is a racist"; however, Mr Rolfe's lawyer, Luke Officer, argued that racism was not legally relevant to the shooting and should not be considered.

The inquest formally closed in November after hearing extensive evidence, including over 5,000 pages of transcripts and nearly 2,000 pages of submissions.

Judge Armitage had agreed to deliver her findings in Yuendumu, where members of Mr Walker's family had requested the announcement take place.

However, that visit and the delivery of the inquest findings have now been postponed, after Mr White's family requested a delay to allow for sorry business to be observed.

The inquest findings will now be handed down on July 7 in Yuendumu.

Kumanjayi White's death is the ninth First Nations death in custody this year and at least the 594th since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

No one has ever been convicted in relation to those deaths.

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National Indigenous Times

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