Further details of what occurred in the room where an Aboriginal teenager was fatally shot by a police officer have been heard in the Northern Territory's Supreme Court today.
Remote Sergeant Adam Eberl held the rank of Constable when he, Constable Zachary Rolfe and other Immediate Response Team members were deployed to Yuendemu to provide respite for local police and arrest Kumanjayi Walker.
Constable Rolfe has pleaded not guilty to murdering Kumanjayi Walker in 2019, as well as alternative charges.
Officer Eberl recounted the night he and Constable Rolfe entered house 511 in Yuendemu in search of 19-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker.
Officer Eberl's body-worn camera vision, presented in court, shows officers trying to establish Kumanjayi Walker’s identity by holding a photo next to the teenager's face.
Moments later Kumanjayi Walker stabs constable Rolfe with a pair of scissors.
Constable Rolfe then fires a shot into Kumanjayi Walker’s back.
Officer Eberl then wrestled with Kumanjayi Walker as Constable Rolfe fired two more shots from point blank range.
Officer Eberl said he was trying to bring Kumanjayi Walker to ground.
“I took hold of his arm and I used a distraction strike to try and change his mindset and give me a position so I could grab him and try and restrain him,” he told prosecutor Philip Strickland.
Officer Eberl said he was attempting to use a specific hold he’d learnt in training to restrain Kumanjayi Walker.
"It’s similar to the seatbelt hold that’s taught in defensive tactics. It’s a particular hold that’s used to take the person to the ground."
Mr Strickland also questioned Mr Eberl about the period after Kumanjayi Walker was shot, when officers attempted to administer first aid to the 19-year-old at the Yuendumu police station.
In body-worn camera vision of the event, Officer Eberl and a number of other members of the Immediate Response Team are standing over the teenager as they try to treat him,
Sergeant Eberl can be seen smiling at Constable Rolfe.
"So you can see yourself speaking to Mr Rolfe briefly?" asked Mr Strickland.
"Correct," replied Eberl
"And you're smiling at him?"
"Correct."
"And... do you remember saying anything to him at that point in time?"
"No, I do not recall."
The officer in charge of the Immediate Response Team Sgt Lee Bauwens to took the stand late in today's hearing.
Officer Eberl (L) smiles at Constable Rolfe (R) as they administer first aid to Kumanjayi Walker. Source: Supplied: Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
Sgt Bauwens was also a trainer of the Tactical Response Group (TRG), a "full-time" elite police unit trained in high risk operations including "bomb disposal, close personal protection, search and rescue, diving."
Sgt Bauwens said the IRT was a part-time unit whose primary role was to 'cordon and contain', a phrase that has come up repeatedly in the course of the trial's two and a half weeks.
The prosecution has questioned why members of the IRT did not follow an existing arrest plan which directed officers to gather intelligence on Kumanjayi Walker's whereabouts and wait until the following morning to effect an arrest.
The decision of officers Rolfe and Eberl to enter house 511 rather than retreat and establish a cordon around the house has also been examined.
Mr Strickland asked Sgt Bauwens to define the purpose of a cordon and contain.
"It's cordoning a situation which has been declared a high-risk situation, and they cordon and manage that situation until further resources arrive, namely TRG," he answered.
The military service of several members of the IRT, including Rolfe, was also raised in court.
"Was previous military experience relevant to whether a person would be accepted?" asked Strickland.
"It was taken into consideration," replied Sgt Bauwens.
"In a positive way?"
"Generally, yes."
Sgt Bauwens will continue giving evidence when the trial resumes tomorrow.
