Zachary Rolfe, who shot dead Aboriginal teenager Kumanjayi Walker in 2019, is fired by NT police
Cop who fatally shot Aboriginal teen during botched arrest gets kicked out of police force – as father beats ‘little vendetta’
- Zachary Rolfe has been fired from NT Police
- He shot and killed an Aboriginal teenager in 2019
- Mr Rolfe was charged with murder and subsequently acquitted
Breaking news
Zachary Rolfe has been dismissed from the Northern Territory Police Force despite being cleared of murder charges for shooting an Aboriginal teenager dead.
Mr Rolfe shot and killed Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker during a botched arrest in November 2019 in the remote community of Yuendumu.
A statement from NT Police on 4 April confirmed that Mr Rolfe had been dismissed ‘for serious breaches of discipline’.
“A 31-year-old male police officer has been discharged from the Northern Territory Police Force effective April 4, 2023,” the statement read.
“The officer was dismissed under section 78 of the Police Administration Act 1978 for serious breaches of discipline during their police career.”
Mr Rolfe, a former constable, was charged with the murder of Mr Walker three days after his death on 9 November 2019, but was acquitted in March 2022.
Four NT police officers arrived in Yuendumu to arrest Mr. Walker, but the 19-year-old resisted and stabbed Mr. Rolfe in the shoulder with surgical scissors.
In response, Mr. Rolfe’s partner, Adam Eberl, hit Mr. Walker in the head, then Mr. Rolfe punched the boy in the face, before firing his Glock pistol into Mr. Walker’s back.
Mr. Rolfe shot Mr. Walker two more times in the torso. A post-mortem examination would later reveal whether the second or third shot killed him.
The ABC has reported that Mr Rolfe’s firing may be linked to a 2,500-word statement attributed to the former agent, which was published online in February.
It was critical of police leadership and the ongoing corona investigation into Mr Walker’s death.
Meanwhile, Mr Rolfe’s father, Robert Rolfe, called out Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker and said the area’s top constable ‘has to go’.
Mr Rolfe claimed a ‘little vendetta’ led to his son’s firing.
“We cannot allow Chalker to continue to get rid of good police officers,” Rolfe told Sky News Australia.
Mr Rolfe Sr also claimed that ‘the government has now lost confidence in Chalker’.