Melissa Mackay on Muck Rack

Melissa Mackay

As seen in: ABC News (Australia), MSN, MSN Australia, Hack, The World Today (Podcast), MDPI, Nine News Australia, The New Daily, The Hamilton Spectator (Hamilton, ON), Mogaznews En, Telegraph-Journal and
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Articles

How the Yuendumu police shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker changed the NT

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By Melissa Mackay
| ABC News (Australia) Verified
The sun is beginning to sink into the desert horizon when a team of pseudo-tactical cops — police dog in tow — roll in to Yuendumu, a tiny Aboriginal community three hours from Alice Springs. It's quiet in town on this Saturday night, November 9, 2019. There's a funeral happening at the cemetery. But it hasn't been this calm for a while — a string of violent break-ins targeting the community's health staff has scared the nurses into Alice Springs for the weekend, seeking respite.
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Zachary Rolfe considers appeal of findings in Kumanjayi Walker police shooting inquest

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By Melissa Mackay, Jason Walls Verified
| ABC News (Australia) Verified
Former police officer Zachary Rolfe is considering appealing to the Supreme Court to have findings from an inquest into the shooting death of an Aboriginal man declared "void, either in part or in whole". In her findings, the Northern Territory coroner said she "cannot exclude [the] possibility" that Mr Rolfe’s "racist attitudes" contributed "to his decision to pull the trigger". A law professor says appeals of coroner's findings are both "rare" and "rarely upheld".
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Five key findings from the NT coroner's inquest into Kumanjayi Walker's death in police custody

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By Melissa Mackay
| ABC News (Australia) Verified
NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage has delivered her findings into the fatal police shooting of 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker during an arrest in Yuendumu in 2019. Some of the key findings include that Mr Walker's death was "avoidable", that former constable Zachary Rolfe was "racist" and that the junior officer had previously used "unnecessary force". Judge Armitage's lengthy report also detailed 32 formal recommendations for change.
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