A close friend and colleague of Constable Zachary Rolfe has issued an emotional apology to the coronial inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker, after text messages he'd sent to the officer using terms such as "gay c**ts", "f*gs" and "n***rs" were made public.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
Constable Mitchell Hansen, who grew up across remote communities in the Northern Territory with his "bush cop" father, told the coroner he had "compromised [his] own integrity" by sending racist and homophobic messages.
"This [coronial process] has highlighted a lot about myself," Constable Hansen told the court.
"I hope [Mr Walker's family] can see where I've come from and the standard I hold myself to now.
"It's clear to me that the things I have said have offended Walker's family.
"I never intended to offend anyone, but I think our words have power."
Constable Hansen was a member of the Immediate Response Team (IRT) in 2019 but was not involved in the shooting of Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu.
Constable Zachary Rolfe has since been acquitted of all charges relating to Mr Walker's death and Northern Territory coroner Elisabeth Armitage is currently presiding over a three-month inquest into the death in custody.
A series of text exchanges downloaded from Constable Rolfe's phone have been the subject of weeks of evidence since the inquest began in early September.
Some 8,000 pages of messages were obtained by police after the officer was arrested in 2019 and a handful have been read to the court, described as racist, homophobic, sexist and abhorrent.
A visibly emotional Constable Hansen told the coroner he felt "regret, embarrassment and shame" for the messages he had sent and received from his "good, close friend" and colleague Constable Rolfe.
"When that sort of language came into my repertoire, I didn't have friends who were gay, so I guess it was meaningless, whereas now … those messages are out there now," Constable Hansen said.
"It has an impact on people I love and care about."
The officer acknowledged the use of the word "n***er" could lead to Indigenous people being "dehumanised" and police being "desensitised" to the language.
"I don't have the emotional response to a word like that that I should have," he said.
Constable Hansen told the coroner he had apologised to friends and colleagues for the private messages that have since been made public throughout the coronial inquest.
"Although I'm deeply offended by my own conversations, the growth I've gotten from this is almost invaluable. It gives me experience in owning my mistakes and other [police] members are doing the same."
The court heard he had also sent a message to Constable Rolfe which had been forwarded from another, more senior, officer containing a suggestion about the justification of the use of force.
Under cross examination, Constable Hansen was asked how he felt about that message potentially "compromising" evidence.
"I hadn't thought about that," said Constable Hansen.
"I wish there was something I could do to give [Mr Walker's family] peace."
Coroner Elisabeth Armitage thanked the officer for his candid and honest evidence, telling the court he had set an "excellent example".
"I can appreciate that a lot of the difficult work has been done in the lead up to today," said Judge Armitage.
"The inquest is here for the family to learn and understand as much as they can about the passing, in very traumatic circumstances, of their family member, but it's obviously also a process of reflection and learning for the organisations and individuals who are involved.
"We appreciate that you've taken the process seriously."
Counsel Assisting the Coroner, Dr Peggy Dwyer, told the inquest many of the community members watching as the inquest was live-streamed also appreciated the officer's evidence.
