The attempted arrest of Kumanjayi Walker was "very much a failure" and should have involved better planning, clear communication and a risk assessment, a member of the arrest team has told the Northern Territory coroner.
Constable James Kirstenfeldt was one of five Alice Springs-based police officers deployed to Yuendumu on November 9, 2019, tasked with arresting Mr Walker for a breach of a court order and assaulting police.
The officer was outside of house 511 when Constable Zachary Rolfe shot Mr Walker three times during an attempted arrest, after the 19-year-old stabbed Constable Rolfe in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.
Constable Rolfe was acquitted of all charges after a Supreme Court trial in March, and the Northern Territory coroner is currently presiding over an inquest into the death.
The coroner has heard evidence from several witnesses about a "5am arrest plan" drawn up by Yuendumu Sergeant Julie Frost and her superior officers, which indicated the visiting Immediate Response Team (IRT) members would meet a local police officer at about 5am on November 10, to arrest Mr Walker while he was sleeping.
However, the officers left the Yuendumu police station just after 7pm on November 9 and Mr Walker was shot about half an hour later.
Constable Kirstenfeldt told the coroner he had no idea how the plan "morphed" or was "abandoned."
"A break down in communications is exactly what has occurred during this," he said.
Sergeant Julie Frost earlier told the coroner she had emailed the plan to all members of the IRT and dog handler, Adam Donaldson, that afternoon – but due to the lack of phone service between Alice Springs and Yuendumu, the court has heard the officers didn't see the email.
The court heard Sergeant Donaldson was given a hard copy of the plan when he arrived, and Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Dr Peggy Dwyer, said Constable Rolfe had seen at least part of the plan.
Constable Kirstenfeldt was seen on Yuendumu police station CCTV that evening holding a piece of paper, which Counsel Assisting suggested was the plan, while the officer maintained he recalled seeing a different document.
"If I'd have known that there was a plan, and that was formally given to us, I would have followed that direction," Constable Kirstenfeldt said.
The officer rejected suggestions he was "rude" or spoke over the sergeant at the station, telling the coroner he asked her "a lot of questions" about the response team's mission once they arrived in Yuendumu.
"I felt at that stage that I had absolutely no information whatsoever. [The plan] was to go and arrest Mr Walker and I didn't know where from," Constable Kirstenfeldt said.
"[Sergeant Frost] knew we were going to house 577… to find out information about where [Mr Walker] was and that's when she said, 'if you come across him, by all means arrest him'."
The court heard house 577 was the last place Kumanjayi Walker had been seen by police.
Arrest of Kumanjayi Walker 'a failure'
Days before the response team was called to Yuendumu, Mr Walker was captured on body worn camera footage running at local officers with an axe, when they attempted to arrest him.
Constable Kirstenfeldt agreed the footage, which members of the IRT had watched before leaving Alice Springs, meant they could have predicted Mr Walker could arm himself again when cornered by police.
He told the court a risk assessment should have been conducted by officers prior to any attempted arrest.
"[It was] very much a failure, a young man died," Constable Kirstenfeldt said.
"I'm going to suggest to you, Constable Kirstenfeldt, a better plan, might have avoided that tragic result?" Dr Dwyer asked.
"Yeah, a better plan, better communication," he said.
Asked what lessons the police force could learn from the failed arrest; the officer said a clear team leader and mission plan should have been in place.
"[There should have been a] clear and concise formalised plan, delivered in an appropriate manner that everyone understands, and the leader of the plan, or the leader of the mission, understands that everyone understands," Constable Kirstenfeldt said.
The inquest continues.
