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Australia: a policeman tried for the murder of an aboriginal teenager

2022-02-06T08:07:56.556Z


An Australian police officer is on trial Monday for the murder of an Indigenous teenager, a case that could lead to the first...


An Australian police officer is on trial Monday for the murder of an Aboriginal teenager, a case that could lead to the first conviction of a police officer for the death of an Aboriginal man in custody.

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Zachary Rolfe is accused of shooting dead 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in a remote Outback town in 2019, a high-profile case that sparked a wave of protests across the country.

Mr Rolfe, 30, pleaded not guilty.

In Australia, a growing number of voices are being raised to warn of the high number of indigenous people who have died in police custody.

More than 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in police custody since 1991, when detailed records were compiled, including 11 in the past seven months.

Despite several public inquiries and trials involving similar cases, no Australian police officer has ever been convicted of the murder of an indigenous person in custody.

The facts date back to November 9, 2019. According to court documents, Rolfe and another officer entered a house to arrest Mr. Walker for an alleged breach of bail and told the young man to put his hands behind his back.

Instead, the young man reportedly injured the officer in the shoulder with a pair of scissors and a struggle ensued during which Mr Rolfe fired three shots at Mr Walker.

The teenager died that night at Yuendumu police station and four days later the officer was charged with murder.

The death of the young Aboriginal man has sparked a wave of protests across Australia demanding "

Justice for Walker

".

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-02-06

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