Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Zachary Rolfe's father Richard wants Police Commissioner Chalker to step down

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Zachary Rolfe's father Richard wants Police Commissioner Chalker to step down · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, as we've been talking about throughout the morning, we
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: do know Northern Territory Police officer Zach Roff was on
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Friday acquitted on all charges over the shooting death of
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  Speaker 1: kumen Ji Walker in U and Demu in twenty nineteen,
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  Speaker 1: after jurors returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.
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  Speaker 2: It took around seven hours.
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  Speaker 1: For the jury to determine mister Roff not guilty on
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  Speaker 1: all three of those charges, and the effects, as we know,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: have been felt.
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  Speaker 2: Far and wide.
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  Speaker 1: Now Zach Roff's dad, Richard, joins me on the line
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  Speaker 1: right now.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Richard.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Richard, it took around seven hours for the jury
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  Speaker 1: to determine your son not guilty on all three charges
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  Speaker 1: of the shooting death of Kumen Jay Walker on Friday.
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  Speaker 1: How did you feel when the outcome was handed down?
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  Speaker 3: Very relieved obviously that the correct verdict had been delivered.
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  Speaker 3: But I think in reality, Katie, it took a lot
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  Speaker 3: less time than what has been reported. The judge provided
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  Speaker 3: two hours forty five minutes of directions on the Thursday,
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  Speaker 3: which was quite detailed, but on the Thursday afternoon, the
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  Speaker 3: jury had requested a copy a transcript of those directions,
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  Speaker 3: which was provided to them on Friday morning. Within three
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  Speaker 3: hours after reading the two hour, forty five minute worth
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  Speaker 3: of directions, they had come to a unanimous decision on
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  Speaker 3: all three counts. So it was correct that they sat
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  Speaker 3: together for about six hours, But I think that once
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  Speaker 3: they had the full transcript and they'd read the transcript,
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  Speaker 3: I would suggest that it took probably closer to an
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  Speaker 3: hour an hour and a half.
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  Speaker 2: Richard, how's that going.
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  Speaker 3: Look, he's okay, obviously relieved that the part of the
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  Speaker 3: truth has come out, relieved that he's not facing a
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  Speaker 3: mandatory sentence of over two in jail. But the fact
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  Speaker 3: that the Police Commissioner came out a couple of hours
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  Speaker 3: after the verdict was delivered to give what could only
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  Speaker 3: be described as a rambling and bizarre press conference where
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  Speaker 3: he was making veiled threats against that seemed very very strange.
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  Speaker 3: And it was only afterwards that we understood that the
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  Speaker 3: Police Commissioner had directed the police to phone the Police
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  Speaker 3: Association have been magnificent and told the Police Association that
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  Speaker 3: the Commissioner was suspending him immediately.
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  Speaker 1: So he is suspended at the moment. Why, what is
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  Speaker 1: the reason that's been given at this point, there.
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  Speaker 3: Has been no reason given, Katie, there's no paperwork. My
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  Speaker 3: understanding is that Police Association President Paul McHugh will be
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  Speaker 3: holding a press conference eleven o'clock your time so we
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  Speaker 3: might find out more than all I can say is
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  Speaker 3: that in the Northern Territory Police Force, if you ever
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  Speaker 3: use force in any incident, and that could be breaking
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  Speaker 3: a window in a car to get a young child
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  Speaker 3: out of a hot vehicle in the middle of a summer,
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  Speaker 3: or breaking into a room to rescue a child who
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  Speaker 3: has locked themselves in the room, that's use of force.
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  Speaker 3: And Zach had never previously used his garden or taser
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  Speaker 3: in an arrest. He had an exemplary police record. But
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  Speaker 3: the man charged with providing of force report for the police,
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  Speaker 3: Andrew Barron, who was eviscerated on stand by both David
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  Speaker 3: Edwardson and also by the genuine use of force expert
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  Speaker 3: Ben mcdebittt. He apparently has reviewed over three incidents that
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  Speaker 3: Zach has been involved with and has decided that Zack's
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  Speaker 3: done something wrong, even though every incident has been previously
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  Speaker 3: cleared by a sergeant and a senior sergeant or a
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  Speaker 3: sergeant in a commander, so you'd have to ask Andrew
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  Speaker 3: Barrom what games he's playing? Yet?
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  Speaker 2: Can I ask you, Richard? It is being reported that.
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  Speaker 1: Section seventy nine has been put on Zach after speaking
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  Speaker 1: to the media. Now, look, I don't want you to
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  Speaker 1: put him in any further difficult situation. So is that
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  Speaker 1: the case or would you at this point prefer not
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  Speaker 1: to say too much.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not sure.
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  Speaker 1: We seem to have lost Richard Rolf there. Let us
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  Speaker 1: see if we are able to get him back on
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  Speaker 1: the line. I'm not too sure exactly what's gone on,
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  Speaker 1: but we seem to have lost him. That phone line
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  Speaker 1: has dropped out, So we'll just see if we're able
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  Speaker 1: to get him back on the line and find out exactly.
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  Speaker 2: What the situation is here.
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  Speaker 1: If indeed there has been a Section seventy nine push
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  Speaker 1: on Constable Zach Rolf After that unanimous decision was delivered
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  Speaker 1: on Friday, so we know that he was acquitted on
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  Speaker 1: all charges over the shooting death of Kumen Jai Walker
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  Speaker 1: and ew And Demu in twenty nineteen. The jurors returned
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  Speaker 1: that unanimous not guilty verdict on Friday afternoon. There has
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  Speaker 1: been a lot said since that point, and I believe
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  Speaker 1: that we have now got Richard Rolf back on the line.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning again to you, Richard.
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  Speaker 3: I'm sorry about that case.
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  Speaker 2: That's okay, Richard.
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  Speaker 1: It is being reported that there has been a section
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  Speaker 1: seventy nine push on your son after speaking to the media.
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  Speaker 2: Is that the case.
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  Speaker 3: Look, we don't know, Katie that we haven't received any paperwork.
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  Speaker 3: I've read that report in the Anti Independent and they're
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  Speaker 3: saying that they have heard from multiple police sources that
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  Speaker 3: that's the case. I thought that's standing on the footsteps
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  Speaker 3: of the Supreme Court building saying that he was relieved
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  Speaker 3: it was the right verdict, but he wanted to provide
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  Speaker 3: space to the Walker family and the und the Mood
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  Speaker 3: community to speak at this stage and walked off. I
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  Speaker 3: can't imagine he could have said anything more perfectly than that.
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  Speaker 3: So if he has been issued to Section seventy nine
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  Speaker 3: for saying something that the police commissioner failed miserably to
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  Speaker 3: say in his six minute, thirty three second ramble, it
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  Speaker 3: would as found me. But Richard, it does police commissioner.
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  Speaker 1: You've got it does sound as though you know, as
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  Speaker 1: though you are quite concerned about a lack of support
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  Speaker 1: for your son from the police force and senior members
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  Speaker 1: of the force.
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  Speaker 3: Well, no commissioned officer has ever checked on Zach's welfare
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  Speaker 3: or his family since the arrest, and they have persecuted
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  Speaker 3: him relentlessly. They've tried to drive him to commit suicide.
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  Speaker 3: Without doubt, they are the worst employer in the country.
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  Speaker 3: They have no duty of care to their staff. It's
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  Speaker 3: atrocious and the only way the Northern Territory Police Force
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  Speaker 3: can rebound to be the great police force that they
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  Speaker 3: once were is to immediately remove Jamie Chalker.
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  Speaker 1: So you are calling for the Police Commissioner, Jamie Chalker
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  Speaker 1: to be removed from his job.
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  Speaker 3: Whether he is sacked immediately or he resigns, I don't mind,
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  Speaker 3: but he must go. He is corrupt, he has lied,
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  Speaker 3: He has misled the uend of her community. He had
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  Speaker 3: promised that my son would be convicted, promised that he
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  Speaker 3: would be in jail. He gave an inappropriate interview to
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  Speaker 3: The Australian in February twenty twenty where that is basically
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  Speaker 3: what he said. And now even after stacking the court
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  Speaker 3: case against Zach by having forty crown which a number
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  Speaker 3: of whom lied on the stands and where we saw
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  Speaker 3: crucial evidence withheld by expert witnesses. They are up against
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  Speaker 3: only two things, one my son Zach Rolf speaking the truth,
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  Speaker 3: and one defense witness, and they lost in what I
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  Speaker 3: would suggest was a one hour review. After the transcript
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  Speaker 3: was read by the twelve jurors.
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  Speaker 1: Richard, what you are saying is explosive. I know that
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  Speaker 1: there will be people listening this morning who will be
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  Speaker 1: utterly surprised by what you're saying, calling for the police
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  Speaker 1: commissioner to stand down. There will be others who will
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  Speaker 1: support what you were saying, and there'll be some listening
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  Speaker 1: this morning who are thinking to themselves, you know, this
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  Speaker 1: is a dad that's really hurt by what's gone on.
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  Speaker 3: It's not just a dad that's really hurt. The you end,
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  Speaker 3: the move community, the Walker fan, the entire police force,
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  Speaker 3: and every member of the Northern Territory community. They're hurting
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  Speaker 3: because they're not getting the police force that they deserve,
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  Speaker 3: because they don't have the leadership that's there. Last week
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  Speaker 3: was the most emotional, most highly charged part of the
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  Speaker 3: entire two year four months waiting for this to get
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  Speaker 3: to trial, and we saw another incident, but where there
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  Speaker 3: was a shooting in Palmerston. Where was the police commissioner
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  Speaker 3: in South Australia playing golf?
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  Speaker 1: Richard, Look, I do want to just pull you up
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  Speaker 1: on one thing that you said, saying that the police
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  Speaker 1: commissioner is corrupt. We do need to be obviously careful
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  Speaker 1: about what we're saying on air, and there is nothing
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  Speaker 1: to suggest that he has has done anything corrupt at
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  Speaker 1: this point.
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  Speaker 2: I do that. I want to take you back to no.
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  Speaker 3: I probably should have said I think that his behavior
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  Speaker 3: was corrupt in withholding evidence from both the defense and
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  Speaker 3: the court okay for port was well known, and to
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  Speaker 3: fail to provide that to the court I believe is
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  Speaker 3: a clear example of corrupt behavior by the police commissioner.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Like I say, I will just have to
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  Speaker 1: to make sure that I'm very careful in you know,
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  Speaker 1: in obviously what's being said here. There's no suggestion by
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  Speaker 1: myself or by the radio station that.
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  Speaker 3: He has using that Because the previous IK Commissioner, Ken
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  Speaker 3: Fleming spoke out two days after the shooting and he
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  Speaker 3: spoke about corrupt behavior and called that out and using
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  Speaker 3: his definition of corrupt, I think I'm quite correct in
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  Speaker 3: drawing the same analogy with the Police Commissioner.
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  Speaker 1: Richard can I ask. I know this has been a
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  Speaker 1: case which has captivated and it's also divided the community.
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  Speaker 1: Many within the Falls felt there wasn't a thorough investigation
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  Speaker 1: before your son was charged. In your eyes, was their
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  Speaker 1: political motivation behind the charges?
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  Speaker 3: Oh, definitely, that was clear on the night of the shooting.
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  Speaker 1: Again, I know there'll be people listening this morning, some
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  Speaker 1: who are maybe connected to the EU and DEMU community,
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  Speaker 1: some who are feeling really sad at the loss of
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  Speaker 1: kuman Jai Walker, and and.
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  Speaker 3: They should be. They should be sad, and this has
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  Speaker 3: only no doubt angered them that they've waited two years,
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  Speaker 3: four months for something that they've been promised, and they're
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  Speaker 3: trying to come to groups with the fact that why
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  Speaker 3: didn't work out the way that the police commissioner and
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  Speaker 3: chief Minister were suggesting, and to an less their extent,
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  Speaker 3: why didn't it come about based on the level of
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  Speaker 3: reporting by the media during the trial, because I think
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  Speaker 3: that large sections of the media, not all, but large
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  Speaker 3: sections of the media did try to paint a narrative
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  Speaker 3: that that was going to be found guilty and he
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  Speaker 3: would be spending time in jail on some of the reports.
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  Speaker 3: The Ben mcdebbitt a testimony, which was probably the second
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  Speaker 3: most crucial testimony of the entire trial. It was never
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  Speaker 3: even written about in the nten years.
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  Speaker 2: Well, look, I'll leave I leave others.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I'll leave other media outlets to obviously, you know,
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  Speaker 1: to speak about what they have and haven't covered. I
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  Speaker 1: know for us here or mix, it can be quite
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  Speaker 1: difficult for us with very limited resources.
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  Speaker 2: But look, yeah, I do.
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  Speaker 1: Want to ask, has there been any indication at this
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  Speaker 1: point in time, Richard, whether your son's going to be
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  Speaker 1: allowed to go back to work.
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  Speaker 3: Well, at this stage we're simply waiting for the paperwork
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  Speaker 3: on the summons, but I can't imagine Zach returning while
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  Speaker 3: you have a man with the level of integrity of
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  Speaker 3: Chalker as police Commissioner, Richard, the Northern Territory public need
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  Speaker 3: to decide do you want someone with Zach Rolf's integrity
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  Speaker 3: or do you want Jamie Chalker.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Richard, I really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: I know that it's been an incredibly difficult situation for
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  Speaker 1: your family, for your son. I know it's been an
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  Speaker 1: incredibly difficult situation for the people of you and Demoux
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  Speaker 1: as well, to whom we have reached out to this
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  Speaker 1: morning to try and get them on and.
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  Speaker 2: Also to our police force.
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  Speaker 1: I know that there's a lot of police at the
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  Speaker 1: moment who are feeling you know, they're questioning their ability
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  Speaker 1: to be able to do their jobs and to have
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  Speaker 1: the support of the executive of the police.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, they need a leader that's on the ground, not
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  Speaker 3: ready to tee off on the.
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  Speaker 1: Third, Richard Rolph, thank you very much for speaking to
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  Speaker 1: me this morning.
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  Speaker 2: I appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 3: And thank you Katie, thank you