Agency Report
An Australian constable goes on trial Monday with prosecutors trying to secure the country’s first murder conviction against a police officer over the death of an Aboriginal person.
Zachary Rolfe is accused of shooting dead 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in a remote outback town in 2019 in a high-profile case that prompted nationwide protests.
Rolfe, 30, has pleaded not guilty.
The trial kicks off amid growing outcry over the number of Indigenous deaths in police custody and follows large-scale racial justice rallies in Australia and around the world.
More than 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody since 1991, when detailed records began, including at least 11 in the last seven months.
Despite several public inquiries and trials over similar cases, no Australian police officer has ever been convicted of murder over the death of an Indigenous person in custody.
“Given the heightened attention to deaths in custody in Australia, and the Black Lives Matter movement, I think people are using this as a litmus test for whether the courts can provide justice for First Nations families,” said Thalia Anthony, professor of law at the University of Technology Sydney.
In a surprise decision last November, Australia’s High Court blocked an attempt by Rolfe to argue he acted in “good faith” when he shot Walker.
Experts say the ruling took away a key legal defence available to police when carrying out their duties.
In October, another police officer went on trial for murder in Western Australia over the death of a 29-year-old Aboriginal woman in the first such case in that state in a century. He was found not guilty.
Several other Australian officers have faced murder charges before being acquitted or having the charges dropped.
