The tragic police shooting that shocked Australia | Under Investigation with Liz Hayes

We advise heterosexual Aboriginal and Islander viewers that the following program contains images and voices of deceased people three seconds three gunshots do not stress stay calm a white

police

officer kills a young Aboriginal man stabbing me stabbing me back take your children take the children, This third world war is approaching and a nation is torn apart, when are we going to get justice tonight, we investigate what happened. Good evening, I'm Liz Hayes and this is under

investigation

on 9 November 2019 in the remote aboriginal community of yamu 300 kilm. Northwest of Alice Springs, the Northern Territory Police First Response Team is set to arrest 19-year-old Kum J.

Walker. Agent Zachary rol, 29, takes the lead. Who is this house? Within an hour, KJ is fatally shot. Ral is accused of murder. and 2 years later a jury will acquit him tonight we are investigating whether this deadly outcome was preventable or worse still inevitable those two men should never have come face to face joining me Colleen Gwyn former crime commander in the Northern Territory

police

force should I've never been in that situation, but once you are, there's no way out of it. Human rights lawyer Raymond Broomhall, to me, it was outrageous that this man needed medical treatment, but no, they dragged him out.

Dr. Thalia Anthony, professor of law at the University. of Technology Sydney looks like a community under siege, a community that is being invaded by a paramilitary force and Ned Hargraves War Pere Elder of the Yamu community where Kum J Walker lived and died. The question is whether we are going to get justice, an assertive white police officer. troubled Aboriginal teen simplistic and frankly unhelpful descriptions of the two young men at the center of this case, so what do we know about Kumi Walker and Zachary Rolf? Tell me about Kumi Ned, describe this young man while Kum was growing up, he was very quiet.

He was a person and he always wanted to do something active, go hunting, he always wanted to learn his culture from us and he was kind and someone very, very special. It's hard to conceptualize the impact of K's death on the community, it's been so big and I don't think so. we won't really understand until a whole generation has passed IAL Samara Fernandez Brown Mourns the loss of KJ, her cousin who used to stay with her in Adelaide when he was a child. What I remember most about chewing gum is when we were little kids and we spent a lot of time together in Adelaide and we were just hanging out going to the park watching cartoons and one of my best memories is watching Hey Arnold, because that was his name, it was just one of those fun things when I was a kid where you'd say, oh, that's you, that's you, when that cartoon character would show up and make us all laugh, and to me it's such a fun memory that I'll be able to keep for my entire life. life to say it.

Kum J. Walker, 19, had a life of disadvantage that only begins to describe it. He suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and was diagnosed with mild to moderate intellectual disability. He was treated for a series of health problems that also affected his hearing. His parents. He died when he was still a child and there is no doubt that he struggled and had problems with the law. Kum had committed a series of serious crimes. He spent time at Dondale Youth Detention Centre, which a royal commission found had mistreated its youth at the time. inmates and he was a troubled young man, would you agree that he was a problem?

But I say it's not the community that gave him trouble that would want him to look over the shower, say who's coming to get me, who's coming to get me, you know and uh. The community was really really worried about him. I think very early in life you lose your parents so young and then you live with relatives and probably go from bed to bed and you know it's a difficult life. You already develop a dependency. He consumed alcohol at a very young age, so he had a really difficult start in life. Zachary Rolf's life, on the other hand, is a privileged life.

He grew up in Cambra. His mother was a lawyer. His father was a luxury car dealer. Ralph was educated at an elite private school and then served 5 years in the Australian Defense Force as a soldier in an infantry unit and saw active service with the ADF in Afghanistan. The ADF was something that seemed attractive to him and then he saw some active service and he decided that policing was perhaps a natural progression. of defence, but you know the police and the mentality and approaches of the U Defense Force, it's pretty much like chalk and shees, to be honest, in 2016, Ralph joined the Northern Territory police force and It looked like he would shine in heroic police offices stripped down to his underwear for just a week.

At work, he rescued two tourists from flooding Alis Springs River and would later receive a bravery award from the National Police. We evaluate the risks at each point. I knew the worst case scenario if he couldn't get to the other side of the river both times I would just go with the current and just relax and let Cent take me. I know, siia Anthony, when you look at Kum and uh Zachary role, apparently they couldn't be two more different people, yeah, in terms of opportunities in terms. of his ability to get a job in education that meets all the criteria, Ral meets all the requirements and Kumi did not have access to any of those things in a social aspect.

The Bush police are different from the city police. uh, you can deal with situations differently, but Wal's life doesn't. Controversy-free status, get them boots or children's boots, his military career included accusations of theft and lying and his use of force as a police officer was questioned in court, a judge determined he probably deliberately hit the head of a Aboriginal against the ground, leaving him unconscious and he believed that Ral then lied and it would later be revealed that it is my job to take care of NE Andals who drink too much alcohol. rol exchanged racist text messages with other officers. n BR just bothers K a little man, we feel as a community that SEC R is racist because we have been mistreated by him and by the police force itself.

November 9, 2019 was a day of great grief for your community and the time of Kum J's grandfather's funeral. A time that cautious people call a sorry business. Day of mourning and responsibility for Kum, I'm sorry, the way it happens is if there is a passing, you come together and grieve together and it's just a way to create healing and a collective experience instead of knowing that you're alone and grieving. . that person, so it was a very, very emotional moment at the time of his grandfather's passing. Kum was under court order at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Alice Springs, but according to Ned Hargraves, Kumay, as the last surviving male in his immediate family, had a duty to be present at this unfortunate affair.

How How important was it for Kumanji to be in a sorry state at the funeral? Well, for me it was extremely important for him because he is the last relative of the family that left him, his mother left him. the father left him, we say he had to be there, the family needed him, yes, KJ took off the electronic anklet, escaped from the rehab center and made the 300 km trip to Yuan Deu. He wanted to get out of rehab and he didn't want to have the stigma of having the bracelet on his leg and he wanted to take it off so he could go to the funeral as an initiated man who didn't have any influence from the white man, so to speak, but Kum had violated the law and was Now in the police crosshairs, this young man had threatened other police officers.

The confrontation thought that Smith and his hand were too soft, which caught Zachary's attention. You could see this warrior mentality. It was a hugely threatening and provocative situation that is next to be investigated. Tonight we are investigating the life and death of Kum J. Walker. What's going on? Stop, buddy, we're just asking your question. I need to keep walking. The circumstances that led to Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rol being shot, he was terrified because there was a man with a gun and he didn't know what to do, two young men whose opposite worlds collide in a deadly and potentially avoidable moment, They should never have been in that situation, but once you are, there is no way out of it, it is Wednesday, November 6, 2019 in the small community of Yamu, Kum J Walker, 19, is here for what he He knows it as a regrettable business, a funeral for his grandfather.

That young man lost his mother, he lost his father, so he is the only one there to respect. and that moment was very important for him, to be there, very important, but to be in a sorry business, Kum had to escape from a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Alis Springs, where he had been detained by court order and now he had an arrest warrant 3 days before the funeral, local Y and deu police officers attempt to bring Kum Jay to senior officers Lanan Smith and Chris locate him at house 577 in the community as police body cameras show that Kum J threatens them with an ax before dropping it and escaping towards Bush at first sight, that's not a great set-up, is it Colin?

Look, in terms of placement, that's a pretty high risk. Colen Gwin was a former crime commander in the Northern Territory police, in his opinion, even though Yuan and Deu officers who were armed just passed by here. His response to this high-risk situation was admirable. In that situation, the police could see that he was excited. He wanted to escape and, in my opinion, arming himself was not to cause damage, but to increase. the threat so that he could flee, you can see the police at that moment, back off, okay, go because there was nothing to gain by trying to intervene at that moment, I would have gone the way very quickly, it is this incident, however, setting the stage for tragedy with an influx of people expected for the funeral local police ask for support and Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Travis Worst agrees to send the Alice Springs First Response Team Constable Zachary Rolf is part of the team who IR believes has been sent Kum Walker is arrested, the team learns that KJ already threatened local officers with an ax and before leaving for y y deu rol watches the police body camera video of the incident repeatedly when he looked at the body camera he thought Smith and the hand were too soft for that.

In the images that were seen over and over again you could see this type of warrior mentality because this young man had threatened other police officers. What IR does not seem to know is that there is already a peaceful arrest plan for Kumay. an agreement that he would turn himself in when the funeral was over there was a very clear arrest plan that would not take place until the morning after the funeral so that he would have time to be present and be at our grandfather's funeral and that family would support him to delivered the next morning.

Local Police Sergeant Julie Frost and Community Police Officer Derek Williams reached an agreement with Kum Jay's relatives. What Julie and Derek Williams did was fantastic. Let's talk to them. Let's orchestrate this. at a time that is culturally appropriate after a ceremony he has to be at and bring him to the and let's deal with what we have to deal with shortly after 6:30 p.m. rol and the heavily armed police immediate response team arrive at yuan and deu with the mission in mind to immediately arrest Kum J Walker Thalia from your perspective, I imagine they'll bring in the IR uh, it really escalates things, doesn't it?

So? Yes absolutely. signal to the University community that there were police officers in the community with assault rifles who were potentially going to use them. Professor Thalia Anthony specializes in criminal justice for First Nations communities. It was a hugely threatening and provocative situation when the entire council was actually involved. the family to assist with the arrest and yet the message is being sent to the community that it would be dealt with by force; First of all, an IR should never have been approved to go out there under those circumstances and once in yund deu colen. believe that the IR failed to recognize the risks to officers, the community and Kum J Walker from a policing perspective, if you were to travel to a community 2 or 300km away to arrest an offender who you believe might be violent, He has a plan. of attack, how are we going to do this, it has a very detailed risk assessment and the risk assessment has to do with the entire community, it is not just Kumi, it is not just the police, it is the community, they came out without any of that.

Kum J's grandfather's funeral isn't here yet, let's check in, but within an hour of his arrival, Kum J Walker will come face to face with Agent Zachary Ro. Hello M, what is your name? I see that he is a very dangerous man. He went completely crazy. control, stop there, stop, he was a cowboy, he was really coming, he came here because that didn't didn't get attention at the last minute from K and J Walker, they just went there and shot him, take your kids, take the kids and the community is horrified. I think this simply cannot bereal, there is no way this could have happened and it happened this way tonight that remains under

investigation

tonight, we are investigating whether the

tragic

death of Kum Jay Walker was preventable or inevitable.

In a tremendously threatening and provocative situation, those two men should never have come face to face. It is now just after 7:00 p.m. sunset in yu deu Constable Zachary role with the Northern Territory police immediate response team has just arrived a briefing has already begun, although very brief, it is an agreement with the family that Commander J. Walker, 19, will turn himself in later that night or be arrested by police early the next morning, but that plan appears to be lost or ignored having held similar briefings and having been part of briefings in the past that to me they weren't a briefing, it should have been like that.plan in motion Kumi Walker will show up here tomorrow if he doesn't then we will review this the IR made up of four heavily armed officers and a dog handler comes out Zachary role the ex-soldier apparently leads them is which is a disaster that you have someone whose background is related to Deadly Force, there should be a whole range of triggers that should highlight that this individual officer is high risk and that should have happened and it never happened.

Ned Hug Roads, the reaction to the arrival of the IR when the community looked at him. They were scared, scared, I didn't know what was happening, it was these men with guns, big guns, doing it to you. To me, it looks like a community under siege, it looks like a community that is being invaded by a paramilitary type force. Yeah, well, they really were really. completely

shocked

and also terrified, hey, what is this third world war coming, it is clear that the immediate response team is not patrolling as apparently instructed, but rather they are searching for Kum house by house, they arrive at house 577, hey man , my name is Zach, where just 3 days before Kum had confronted the local police with an A is in.

Ral enters but Kum is not outside. They head to house 511. You saw this man outside in this chilling exchange. A resident asks about his weapons, which include an assault rifle and an AR15. Why do we have a gun? no, why him, yes we all carry guns, yes I know, but he aims to shoot someone. No, he's not aiming to shoot anyone. Is that so? We don't have a case for that one, so we have to carry it. then she said: are you going to shoot someone? Yes, she asked: are you going to shoot someone? He said and then said that someone probably shouldn't run at the police with an axe, well if you're going to attack the police with an axe, that was the response he got hey buddy what's going on as he walks towards the entrance of house 511?

Ralph will later testify that he didn't know that the man he faces inside is K J. Okay, don't stress, stay calm. I'll put a photo next to it. your face and seeing who you are yeah, it's what happens next that's so shocking. St., that's not you. Kum J carries a pair of scissors and during a brief struggle, Role is stabbed in the shoulder with his weapon three times in quick succession at close range. reach is everything okay he was stabbing me he was stabbing me everything is okay I was there talking we heard the gunshot and people running screaming outside the station here now we need everyone here from the station that moment was very shocking and scary now they are in the 511 house shot offense arrested shot everyone scattered everyone doesn't know what to do shot them take your kids take the kids please Colin escalated so quickly Were you surprised how quickly it happened?

No no no. In those situations, a second can feel like 5 minutes when you're in close range combat and you almost enter a different world because you know that's the riskiest situation for everyone involved, but Colleen, I mean, since it's a few days . previously there was an attempt to attack the police with an ax and they didn't respond so it wouldn't seem like this is course PA I'm not saying that I think they should have gotten into that situation They should have never been into that situation but once they got in there and they started that confrontation, you can't go back, let's get them out of here, let's go here for ours, when they shot him, they dragged him away. he comes out like a dog what are we doing let's go to the station we'll take him to the station despite being shot three times at close range Kum is still alive and crying for his mother Leanne has his hands cuffed behind his back and they drag him to a police station of police vehicles bleeding and seriously injured.

He is then driven a short distance to Yu and Deu's police station. Thalia is still alive and is handcuffed, but they know he was shot three times and they dragged him out, so they shot him three times. he is very likely going to die so the need to provide him with urgent medical assistance on the spot is absolutely blatant and yet that is not what they do, they handcuff him and then drag him out of the house and then straight to the police cell, so none of that represents any care for his life to me, it was outrageous the fact that this man needed medical treatment and he needed immediate medical treatment, but no, they dragged him out and the really sad thing about it The situation is that there was simply no medical care. assistance uh in the community at that time the community medical staff had left that morning and some said they had concerns for their safety said they felt unsafe the police said to go execute what could be a high risk arrest knowing the circumstances to me just doesn't make any sense um, it should have been an absolute consideration, one of many considerations, having to evacuate the nurses and have them leave, it was no reason, it was not a good reason, should the police having called the flying medics immediately, he is clearly in trouble.

What would you have done? I would think they would have to come anyway. Their impression was that they didn't want them to come because they were afraid for their safety, so now everyone is like that. This situation has apparently completely turned around. out of control at the police station rol and the IR team try to treat k j while an officer radios for help we're going to need backup here and a wing on the way out an increasingly distraught community is gathering cousin just received The police shot him and we don't know if he's okay. It includes Kum's cousin Samara Fernandez Brown, who recorded the scene.

They told us that they shot him and that he was bleeding. We don't know because of the police, no one has told us if he's alive. Yes, he's okay. We were. so scared, we were so scared and confused because my mom was explaining that Kum was shot and taken to the police station. I say this just can't be real, there's just no way this could have happened. and it happened this way and on this night just none of it made sense to me a little over an hour after being shot. K dies shortly after Ralph asks if the body cameras are still recording.

He does not appear. There is a ruse for the community. hey, there's a The ambulance ah Kum is finally boarding the Royal Flying Doctor Service plane. The police trick simply went straight to Ed and discovered the next morning that he was never on that plane. It was very cruel and the consequences of public outrage will flow as a result. the investigation still under investigation the yuan deu community is confused and in shock after the

shooting

of 19 year old Kum Walker and they don't know that Kum is already dead, they told us he was shot, no one told us. if he's alive if he's okay inside the police station Officer Zachary Rolf, 29, seeks treatment for a small stab wound to the shoulder if we've just had something bad or something, but there's concern that the growing crowd outside soon turn hostile So the police come up with a plan to quietly and safely evacuate Rol and the IR team after 2 3 hours of ambulance, when an ambulance arrives the crowd assumes it is for Kum and leaves .

There is a ruse for the entire community. Hey, there's an ambulance. Ah, Kuma is finally here. board the real flying medical service plane, but there is no patient in the ambulance and there is no flying medical plane in its place, a plane chartered by the police, all part of a deceptive plan to secretly transport the first response team outside of BU and deu they didn't. Don't tell us anything, they just sped to the runway, the police, two police cars, an ambulance. Kum stayed at the station, his body lying in a cell, we still had no communication, so yeah, I don't know, right at that moment, just after 4: In the morning, almost 10 hours after the

shooting

, at Kum J's family is finally told the terrible truth and the next morning they discover that not only had he died but that he passed away the night before and that he was never on that plane. it was just that it was very cruel, it was extremely cruel to everyone, the horror of what had just happened was starting to sink in for a teenager who was shot dead by police in a remote part of the Northern Territory when you have a young native very vulnerable in a community and those people who have the responsibility of maintaining Law and Order and the safety of those in the community and then someone dies at the hands of that group, then obviously there will be a huge reaction two days later in the Territories of the North.

The Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, flies to yand deu and makes a promise, and I can promise you that that investigation will be independent and that consequences will flow as a result of that investigation. Do you have anything to say to Mr. Walker's family the next day? Zachary Rolf becomes only the second police officer in the Northern Territory charged with the murder of a First Nation person who has been charged with murder. Ralph's supporters questioned the accusation and the speed with which it was made. We were very strong and adamant and absolutely

shocked

. The decision to charge the Northern Territory police officer for the murder of Faria Anthony much was made about how quickly this search for a death in custody was relatively quick for any other homicide where the person responsible for the murder is known. there would be a direct arrest immediately charges would be filed immediately to just accuse immediately without really understanding all the evidence.

I think it was too hasty. I don't feel it. I do not agree with that. I think the evidence was extremely revealing. uh, the camcorder. images that any lawyer would have seen that and anyone in the prosecutions would have seen that it was definitely like that, how could I say it if it was not a murder, it was involuntary manslaughter throughout the country, the streets erupt in protest, it takes almost 2 years and A2? so the case goes to trial and the day before Zachary rol records a personal video for the media just um in my hotel room up and down walking because my murder trial starts tomorrow morning um it doesn't really seem real but I'm looking forward to it to clearing my name after over 2 years, it was a polarizing case because the expectations of different parts of the community simply could not be met.

New South Wales lawyer Philip Strickland was appointed by the Northern Territory to prosecute Zachary Rolf and agreed to this exclusive interview. The new IND community was outraged that one of the members had been shot and then several officers working with Mr. Ralph were outraged that he was charged. It's a short walk to court, but for Zachary Rolf it's been a long road to trial. February 7, 2022 Zachary rolf's trial begins and the handpicked jurors are seated because it was a murder case. Each side had 12 uncaused challenges, meaning no basis is needed to challenge the jury. How many challenges did the defense accept?

I don't remember exactly, but they used all or most of the 12 they had and who they challenged. There were indigenous people. Panel members. There were members of Tor Str Islander. From the panel. There were darker skinned people. All. I can say that the actual jury that was selected there was one Asian and the rest, as far as I can remember, were Anglo-Saxons, that worried him. I would just say that it is a consequence that can come from allowing 12 challenges because if the crown or the defendants want to exclude First Nations people from the jury with 12 challenges that they can make and that this was never going to be an easy case for the jury based on independent advice on police firearms protocols.

The prosecution made a notable concession by accepting that the first shot was fired. In self-defense, there is no doubt that making the concession was a great help to the defendants because they were able to say that the second and third shots were only 2.6 seconds and 3 seconds later, now you are forced to argue that something changes after the first one. shot how difficult it was that good, that was the whole case really that was the core of the decision of the case the experts of theThe prosecution claimed that because Kum was immobilized after the first shot he was unable to use the scissors he was holding and that Ral and his partner Adam could have disarmed him, instead Ralph fired two more shots and the medical opinion was that the second or the third of the three shots caused fatal damage, stabbing me, whoever stabbed me, okay, everything is okay, he has a pair of scissors that the defendant could have expected. some kind of defensive tactic to try to remove the scissors from the hand that was pinned without having to shoot it, that was our case, so our whole case was that yes, there was a very significant change in those 2.6 seconds.

I'm afraid I just don't agree with him on that at all and this is the issue that the prosecution admitted that the first shot was legal and because they admitted that the first shot was legal, that meant that all the other shots were legal, was a no- The most obvious thing was that almost by that concession to say that it was on Red Road to admit that any shooting was legal is unacceptable to our legal experts Ray Broom Hall and Professor Thia Anthony because they both believe that rol and eul should never have entered to the house where they entered the property without permission from the owner and without permission none of the officers, he argued, had the legal right to enter.

Ms Ralph's evidence was that he was not sure whether Kum and Walker were in the house and therefore needed the owner's consent to enter. house, so my point is that if he did not have a reasonable belief that Kumar was in the house, he was not actually allowed to enter that house, if he had the consent of the owner and he said he believed he had consent. They didn't knock and they didn't have a reasonable suspicion that Kum and Ji Walker were in the house the whole time. Whose Margaret's house is to enter, but on her body camera Ral is told that the house is owned by Margaret.

Margaret, go check inside, okay, Ned Harra says they're telling rol that Margaret's not there, that she's outside, what am I really telling the police? Please don't wait for Margaret to return. It is clear that Ralph is not trying to find Margaret. The court accepts his belief that he had permission, but the court did not hear from Margaret on that issue. I see the blue light and the red light. they called him he ran to the corner very fast Margaret is Kum J's grandmother. English is not her first language, but she told us that she did not give permission to rol to enter her house, to Rob and to come to my house, without permission, placing me to Quin, does not.

It sounds like he had permission, so Ray, based on that, you think a lot could be changed in this case, so the very fact that even the facility was illegally meant that they couldn't rely on that defense, they couldn't rely on self-defense. because they had illegally entered the premises, in fact the responsibility is reversed, as Kum had every right to defend himself in March 2022 before the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, the jury finds Zachary Rolf not guilty of murder charges , involuntary manslaughter and participation in a violent act. causing death, his victory is a devastating loss for Kum Jay's family.

Very happy with the result. Very happy with my family, my friends for the police force and especially my mother, when justice comes. The case continues. The Northern Territory is a jurisdiction. where there is significant racism but this time the Northern Territory police are on trial and Zachary rol is their accuser there is no place for racism we can't have those people like that that's what's next under investigation Kum J Walker was not murdered Zachary rol no committed a crime, but this divisive and

tragic

case makes clear that justice is not just about the laws, but also about the people of the first nation, a large number of our children, often deprived and misunderstood, being picked on shoehorned into a system that simply doesn't fit.

They broke their law, which is why our inquiry tonight asks whether Kum Jay Walker's death was preventable, he was a strong young man or, surprisingly, it was inevitable, he was someone special. I think Kum is a product of the system that he grew up in and therefore has a system that is hell-bent on criminalizing him and not supporting him and the culmination of that was his death. Ironically, it is Zachary Rol who opened a critical window into that system just weeks ago in Alis Springs at the coronial inquest into Kum's death. He is given immunity to testify and on the witness stand he makes some damning statements.

Rolph says racist language is used everywhere within the Northern Territory police force, well the same is true throughout the police force as if he had heard the terms and the n-word and their shocking claims. Also included were allegations of an annual Awards Night by the tactical response group. The certificates presented to the coroner as evidence included this. The Suti Award. The TRG denies it is racist, but the territory's independent Anti-Corruption Commission is now investigating. Was it painful to hear that? So many others talked to me like that, it was so painful and I didn't want to hear that and I couldn't believe it.

You really know why people are in those jobs. They really should be expelled. of work because there is no place for racism we can't have those people so Talia can Zachary Rolf made an argument that ultimately all of this created the situation he found himself in. I think there is an element of truth in that. that we cannot expect to have this culture of racism without officers feeling validated to use Force against Aboriginal people. It is a consequence of a racist culture. The Northern Territory is a jurisdiction where there is significant racism. You hear it there. you face it, you see it in sport, you see it in all facets of the community in the Northern Territory.

Colleen Gwyn, who spent more than a decade in the senior ranks of the Northern Territory Police, acknowledges that she too was guilty of a racist comment when she joined the Northern Territory Police in 1988. I was quite shocked by the levels of racism and you know, I myself have been known to use a racist slur in a private conversation that devastated me, it's something she says she will do. She will always regret it, but she also believes there is another problem with the force: militarization, a consequence, she says, of hiring more and more former defense staff soldiers like Zachary Roth.

In 2010, more than 700 ex-servicemen applied for the Northern Territory Police, many of them successfully. The reality is that we saw evidence in the research that they are twice as likely to use Force, the service has to change, we have to stop militarization, let's go back to the uniforms that are not almost black and that look intimidating, actually, How about we go back and start talking to people again and understand the really powerful cultures of those people that we're supposed to serve and protect and this is work, Liz, it's hard work, but it needs to be done for the future. of the people of our first nation.

I want to leave us with this question: do we all agree that this was a preventable death? Oh absolutely, it should never have happened, preventable at so many stages, not just in the final moments, but so many people could have stopped this from reaching the community. carrying weapons, but at each stage he contributed to the murder of a young man. Everything could have been very different if local indigenous police officer Derek Williams was on duty that day, rather than at the funeral, he is Kum's uncle and would have helped negotiate the plan to peacefully arrest his nephew days earlier alone. to spend the night outside the police station trying to calm the community when that plan seemed ignored, he was the absolute hero and if only the police his colleagues saw that he was the one who faced 200 people said here I am and he had them under control that shows courage and shows how incredible and how important it is to have someone like Derek Williams on the ground Ned yes, just one thing, ceasefire, no, my community, my people.

I want to move forward but with a good plan good solutions good way of doing things understanding the community that is what it needs we cannot continue like this it is not good I thank you and if you have any information about the death of Kumi Walker that If you think it is Importantly, we would like to hear from you. Our management is under investigation. .com. thank you all very much for joining me thank you nid thank you and thank you I'm Liz Hayes good evening