2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback Documentary on Kumanjayi Walker
A four-part docuseries from Blackfella Films director Darren Dale revisits the 2019 death of Kumanjayi Walker, drawing on dozens of interviews and largely unseen police body camera footage to examine the shooting and its aftermath.
A new documentary deconstructs an Australian tragedy: the 2019 death of Kumanjayi Walker, a 19-year-old Warlpiri man shot three times by Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe. The four-part series, 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback, comes from Blackfella Films producer and director Darren Dale.
Warning: this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died.
Walker was armed with medical scissors when he was killed. A Darwin jury found Rolfe not guilty of murder in 2022. A multi-year coronial inquiry later found the "hallmarks" of racism embedded within the Northern Territory police.
A story told in four hours
That inquiry drew Dale, whose credits include Redfern Now and Mabo, to the project. The docuseries covers the before, during and after of the shooting. Dozens of interviewees appear, from Walker's family members to police officials, legal professionals, journalists and community elders.
Dale travelled to Alice Springs and Yuendumu shortly after the inquest began, encouraged by Andrew Boe, a barrister for the Walker families who also appears in the series. "I came straight back to Sydney, organised a meeting with SBS and said, 'Look, this story demands to be told over four hours,'" Dale said.
He does not see it as only the family's story. "This is a story about police. This is a story about people associated with the fallout," he said.
Yuendumu and the people involved
The series first sets the scene in Yuendumu, a remote community about 300km north-west of Alice Springs. It is known for its artistry and has a long history of police violence.
Family members and the professionals who cared for Walker describe him as a funny, energetic young man. They say he had under-identified cognitive and developmental difficulties and a history of run-ins with the justice system. Colleagues describe Rolfe as a proactive officer who built a reputation for pursuing difficult arrests within a police culture that rewarded risk-taking.
Body camera footage
The days before Walker's death and the night of the shooting are shown through largely unseen police body camera footage. In one clip after the shooting, an injured Walker is heard repeatedly wailing for his mother, Leanne Oldfield, who also appears in the series.
"I felt that it was really important that if you're ever going to choose to look, you should look at this," Dale said.
Later footage shows the chaotic aftermath. A dying Walker was locked in a police station while his community was prevented from seeing him or learning about his condition. Only Derek Williams, a local Aboriginal police officer and Walker's uncle, was allowed inside, and not for long enough to gauge the situation.
Walker's cousin Samara Nangala Fernandez-Brown and other residents began broadcasting live on social media as a growing crowd demanded information. "I stood outside that police station and I realised that from where the family was sitting, to where Kumanjayi was dying was between 7 and 11 metres away," Dale said.
Dale said he did not want viewers to feel shouted at. "The power of hearing is one of the reasons I think this project for me feels vital. If we can listen and not look away, we might just understand what happens in our own country."
