NT Police are responding to the acquittal of Constable Zachary Rolfe’s murder charges. 

Constable Rolfe was cleared of all charges last week over the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu. 

The charges against Constable Rolfe were announced just days after Mr Walker’s death in 2019, leading some to suggest NT Police and the Territory government had reacted to public pressure and rushed to charge someone. 

This week, NT Police Association president Paul McCue accused Chief Minister Michael Gunner of “political interference” in the matter, and called for a formal inquiry. 

Mr McCue said there had “never” been enough evidence to charge Constable Rolfe with murder.

“What we want to see is a thorough investigation into how this took place,” he said.

“It is very rare that we see a police officer charged at the speed in which this took place.

“We are talking about the charge of murder — that is the most serious charge known to mankind — and we rushed and made a decision. Why?”

Mr McCue also said that having NT police officers investigate their own people was a “mistake” and “unfair”.

He also said that many officers had left the force since the shooting and subsequent court case.

“Some have directly written to the NTPA [police union] to advise they have left due to the handling of this matter,” he said.

Mr McCue said an inquest should have taken place before any trial.

“[It is] a process which in our opinion ought to have occurred first, as is the case with other jurisdictions with police-involved shootings,” he said.

NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker says the allegations of political interference are “factually incorrect”. 

“Such unfounded allegations are an affront to the critical independence of the Northern Territory police and the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] and damage the trust and confidence in the criminal justice system which must be held by the community,” he said.

Meanwhile, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar says guns should no longer be carried by police officers in Indigenous communities.