A constable who shot and killed an Indigenous teenager during an arrest has been dismissed from the Northern Territory police force.
Zachary Rolfe shot 19-year old Kumanjayi Walker three times in the remote community of Yuendumu, northwest of Alice Springs on the ninth of November 2019.
In a statement from the Northern Territory Police force, a spokesperson said that Rolfe was dismissed under section 78 of the Police Administration Act of 1978.
The section refers to when a “member has committed a breach of discipline and it is in the public interest that the member be immediately dismissed”
The ABC is reporting that the dismissal relates to a 2500 word statement attributed to Rolfe from February this year.
In the statement posted on Rolfe’s Facebook page the disgraced officer apologised for the use of racist language that was uncovered from leaked text messages which included a litany of racist slurs levied at Indigenous Australians.
In his apology Rolfe said he had no intention of causing harms with his words and that he was a “good cop” who “loved the job” and that he has been painted as a racist.
Luke Officer, who represents Rolfe, has confirmed that the former constable is aiming to appeal the dismissal.
“Constable Rolfe’s intention is to appeal the decision and exercise the full legal options available to him challenging the validity of the decision … the process by which it was made, the lawfulness of the decision, and also the merits of the decision,” he said.
