Cop to stand trial for murder after an Aboriginal teenager was shot dead as prosecutors allege he was right to pull the trigger once - but not three times

A Northern Territory police officer who shot dead an Aboriginal teenager will stand trial for murder, with his lawyers arguing he acted in self-defence. 

Constable Zachary Rolfe, 29, was charged with murder after shooting Kumanjayi Walker, 19, three times during an arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu in November last year. 

The teen's death was protested at rallies around Australia in the wake of African-American man George Floyd's death in the United States in May. 

Judge John Birch on Monday ordered Mr Rolfe to stand trial following a three-day preliminary hearing in the Alice Springs Local Court.

Prosecutors agree that the first shot fired at the teenager was self-defence, after the officer was stabbed and attacked with scissors.

But they claim the second and third shots, fired just 3.6 seconds later, were murder. 

Northern Territory Constable Zachary Rolfe, 29, will stand trial for shooting dead an Aboriginal teen last November 

Mr Rolfe shot Kumanjayi Walker , 19, three times during an arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu 

The teen's death was protested at rallies around Australia in the wake of African-American man George Floyd's death in the United States in May 

Mr Rolfe was part of a four-member elite Immediate Response Team that drove 290km from Alice Springs into the Tanami Desert to arrest Walker.

The preliminary hearing in September heard evidence that Mr Walker wounded Mr Rolfe and his partner Adam Eberl with a pair of scissors in a darkened room.

Mr Rolfe allegedly shot Mr Walker with a Glock pistol three times as Walker grappled with Eberl. 

Prosecutors alleged the second and third shots were not justified, arguing the IRT 'disregarded' an arrest plan by Sergeant Julie Frost from the Yuendumu police station.

A criminologist said that two of the shots were 'excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary'. 

The case comes amid rising tensions about the treatment of black and indigenous people by police. 

Zachary Rolfe served in the Army before joining the police in 2016 and won The Clarke Medal (he is pictured collecting his medal with the Governor-General) for bravery for rescuing a woman from a flood waters in Alice Springs in December that year

'There was a careful plan put in place by Julie Frost which involved the deceased being arrested whilst he was asleep at five in the morning,' prosecutor Philip Strickland SC told the hearing.

'All those things were planned to control the environment better.

' he has put himself in the position where his tactical options were limited, because of a failure to follow that plan.'

But Mr Rolfe's lawyers argued he was acting in self-defence when he fired the three shots, the ABC reported. 

'There is not a single piece of evidence the prosecution have produced in this case that suggests that Zachary Rolfe did anything other than comply wholeheartedly with the very training the NT police gave him,' defence barrister David Edwardson QC said. 

Mr Rolfe refused to answer questions from reporters last year after he was seen arriving at Adelaide airport

The decorated officer (pictured, centre) was suspended from the police force with pay after he was charged with murder in the days following Mr Walker's death 

The military veteran is living at his parents' home in Canberra while free on bail and attended court via a video link from the Australian Capital Territory Magistrates Court. 

Mr Rolfe has not been required to enter a plea but denies any wrongdoing. 

He will make his first appearance in the Northern Territory Supreme Court by video on November 25.

The decorated officer was suspended from the police force with pay after he was charged with murder in the days following Mr Walker's death. 

A trial would likely be held next year. Mr Rolfe faces a potential life sentence if convicted.