Who is Zachary Rolfe: the story of the NT cop with prominent Canberra parents

A well-known businessman and philanthropist, Mr Rolfe was attending an Indigenous art auction and cocktail event, the crowd eating canapes and sipping wine in the company of luminaries such as then British high commissioner Meena Rawlings.

The event was something Mr Rolfe and his wife Deb were accustomed to, raising money for those less fortunate than themselves, often in salubrious surroundings.

On that warm spring evening in the national capital, the crowd was there to raise money for Lifeline Canberra and for disadvantaged Indigenous communities. That was no accident - the Rolfes had been supporting Indigenous artists for years and were owners of the significant Pintupi Nine art collection.

Mr Rolfe's business, the Audi Centre Canberra, was one of the sponsors of the event and there was no way he was not going to stump up, despite his world being turned upside down less than 24 hours earlier.

Richard and Deb's son Zach, a policeman in the Northern Territory, had the night before shot dead an Aboriginal teen, Kumanjayi Walker, as Mr Walker resisted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu, 290km north-west of Alice Springs. Mr Walker had threatened two other police officers with an axe three days earlier and was accused of forcing a local community health centre to lock down. He stabbed Rolfe with scissors during the struggle on the night of November 9.

It might seem strange that Rolfe's father Richard would still attend a charity event the day after such a shocking incident, but his family had always believed in their son's innocence.

And while the story has Zach Rolfe being raised in a world of privilege and private schools in Canberra, he was also brought up by parents who knew their social responsibilities, who always tried to give back to others.

"I don't think I could speak any more highly of them," Canberra's man about town John Mackay said.

"They are two of the most respected citizens in this city. I've seen them so many times dig deep for all manner of things."

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Mrs Rolfe is a partner at law firm Maliganis Edwards Johnson. Mr Rolfe is the dealer principal of Audi Centre Canberra. They were both made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday honours list for their philanthropic support of many organisations.

Mrs Rolfe is also chair of the Canberra Hospital Foundation. The Red Hill couple were ACT Local Hero finalists in the 2014 Australian of the Year awards for their service to the Canberra community.

The extent of the Rolfes' connectedness was no more evident in that on one day Richard could be walking alongside his son to court in Darwin, the next he could be escorting the Governor-General into the Australian of the Year awards as a member of the National Australia Day Council.

Zach Rolfe is one of their three sons. He attended Canberra Grammar, did a tour of Afghanistan during his time in the Australian Army and was dux of his police class in the Northern Territory.

One week into starting work as a police officer in Alice Springs, in 2016, Constable Rolfe rescued two tourists from a flood-swollen river.

In April of 2019 at Government House in Canberra, Constable Rolfe received the Royal Humane Society's highest bravery award for the dramatic rescue. Seven months later, he was charged with murder and facing 20 years in an NT jail after shooting Mr Walker dead.

Now, more than two years after the shooting, a verdict has been delivered.

Even in the days after the shooting, Richard Rolfe was confident his son would be found not guilty and the tragic event would be revealed to be a police officer defending himself in the line of duty.

Richard Rolfe, at the time, had been buoyed by a statement released by the Northern Territory Police in the days after the shooting that said Zach Rolfe and his family had "the complete support of the NTPA, as do all of his colleagues and all of our members who put their lives at risk every day to protect the community of the Northern Territory from violent offending".

There has been wider support in the Northern Territory for Constable Rolfe. A Facebook group called "I Support Zach Rolfe" was set up and followed by more than 17,000 people.

Stickers and even stubby holders bearing the message "I Back Zach" were produced. They included imagery of a blue hand - a pointed response to red-hand imagery that had been used as part of the "Justice for Walker" campaign.

In the days before the jury's verdict, Richard Rolfe was upset. He could see a political storm brewing. He believed some of the reporting of his son's case would create an expectation of a guilty verdict and, when one wasn't delivered, all hell would break loose.

Constable Rolfe was cleared of all charges when the jury delivered its verdict on Friday.

A good friend of Constable Rolfe's, who attended Canberra Grammar with him and kept in close contact, including throughout the trial, said the decision was a relief.

When Constable Rolfe was not at the trial in Darwin, he was at home in Canberra, often catching up with his mates, "maybe having a beer, drinking a lot of coffee, sometimes working out together". But never talking about the details of the trial.

"He was always fun, always loyal. He was always ambitious in what he did," the friend, who still lives in Canberra, said.

"He was always goal-driven. He always said to me that he liked having a hard day's work. So I think that's been hard for him the last three years, he hasn't been able to work. He's felt a bit unproductive."

At school, Zach Rolfe was in the first XV for rugby and rowing. His home was in the wealthy suburb of Red Hill.

It's a background that might set him up as someone who was tone deaf to struggle. Especially against the stark contrast of the Aboriginal community of Yuendumu, blighted by alcohol and substance abuse, gambling, violence and unemployment and one of the places targeted by the Howard government's 2007 emergency intervention in the Northern Territory.

Zach Rolfe's friend said he was influenced by his parents' attitudes and beliefs, of wanting to help others. And trying to portray Constable Rolfe as a privileged toff wasn't the reality.

"It's an easy picture to paint. He's the Grammar boy. His parents are very well known in Canberra. But I don't think Zach Rolfe ever flaunted his wealth. He always wanted to work. He didn't want to be given anything," he said.

"He wasn't into name brands or anything like that. He was much more of a practical person."

The friend said Zach Rolfe's future was unsure.

"I think it will be very difficult for him to go back to the police force. Certainly, I don't think he could go back to the Northern Territory," he said.

"I think he's a little bit jaded by it. We've spoken about options but certainly nothing is concrete. He hasn't wanted to think too far ahead."

The friend was shocked to hear the news of the shooting.

"I was shocked but immediately just felt for him. Because we only got part of the story and it was a week before we could actually get in contact with him," he said.

"But in the end, I'm very proud to have Zach as a friend. I have nothing negative to say about him. I wouldn't change the way that we were with each other. I wish this hadn't happened to him and I wish he could speak more about that."

Canberrans have a history of helping the Aboriginal people of Yuendumu. They have raised money for a swimming pool for the community. Local doctors and leaders such as John Mackay have gone there and brought elders back to Canberra to have their eyes fixed and children to have their ears operated on.

John Mackay said: "I think it's a tragedy that an Aboriginal boy is no longer here and I know the Rolfes would feel the same," he said.

"Zach Rolfe made his decision [to shoot] within five seconds, as against the many hundreds of hours that the courts and other authorities have spent considering whether his decision was reasonable."