Arabic version: فيلم وثائقي يتناول وفاة كومانجايي ووكر
According to ABC News, 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback is a four-part documentary series examining the 2019 police shooting death of 19-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker. Walker, who was armed with medical scissors, was shot three times and killed by Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe.
The series is the directorial debut of Blackfella Films producer Darren Dale. It chronicles the period before, during and after Walker’s death through interviews with 39 people, including Walker’s family members, police officials, legal professionals, journalists and community elders. Dale said he wanted the production to hear from people connected to the tragedy rather than present a simple binary account.
The documentary sets Walker’s life and death in the context of Yuendumu, a remote community about 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs. It uses largely unseen police body-camera footage to recount the days before the shooting and its aftermath, including footage in which an injured Walker is heard calling for his mother, Leanne Oldfield. The series also examines the response outside the police station, where residents sought information about Walker’s condition.
Rolfe was found not guilty of murder by a Darwin jury in 2022. A later coronial inquiry led by Northern Territory coroner Elisabeth Armitage found Walker’s death was avoidable and said Rolfe held racist attitudes in an organisation with the hallmarks of institutional racism. Armitage made 33 recommendations. The series states that, as of March, 11 had been explicitly fully supported by the Northern Territory government and police.
Rolfe declined an interview for the documentary. Dale instead included Rolfe’s coronial-inquest testimony and interviews conducted with Seven’s Spotlight in 2022. 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback premieres on SBS and SBS on Demand from November 10.
