Beleaguered ex-SAS solxjmtzywdier Ben Roberts-Smith acted as a “mentor” to Northern Territory cop Zachary Rolfe, who was put on trial for the shooting death of an Indigenous man in 2019, court documents have revealed.
Mr Rolfe, 30, was today found not guilty of murder and other charges in the shooting death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in 2019.
Mr Walker was shot three times by Mr Rolfe in the course of an attempted arrest in a remote community. He died at a local medical clinic roughly an hour later.
Both Mr Roberts-Smith and Mr Rolfe served in Afghanistan, with Mr Rolfe’s mother, Deborah Rolfe, describing the families as “good friends”.
Ms Rolfe, who is a partner at a Canberra-based law firm, vouched for Mr Roberts-Smith as an official character reference in his defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media.
In the documents, dated 28 June 2021, she described Mr Roberts-Smith, who is accused of perpetrating war crimes in Afghanistan, as “very kind and helpful” and a “mentor” to her son.
Before becoming a police officer, Mr Rolfe spent five years in the Australian Army, during which time he also served in Afghanistan.
Ms Rolfe said she first met Mr Roberts-Smith in 2011 at a store in Canberra.
“We spoke and ‘connected’ straight away, in part because Zach had just joined the Australian Army,” she said.
She said she grew close to Mr Roberts-Smith and his wife Emma through shared associations with the Australian War Memorial and returned service person charity Soldier On.
“Our families subsequently became good friends. We met from time to time at charity functions and social occasions. In particular Ben has been very kind and helpful towards Zach, with Ben having acted as a mentor to him, and Emma and I became close friends,” Ms Rolfe said.
When news first appeared, with anonymous allegations, that an Australian ex-serviceman had been involved in war crimes, Ms Rolfe said factors such as Mr Roberts-Smith’s high profile and multiple tours of Afghanistan led her to believe it was him.
After Mr Roberts-Smith was named in the media as the soldier in question, she reached out to Emma via text.
“Omg Em, just saw the article today, you guys must be devastated, we are thinking of you, call me any time to vent!” she said.
Ms Rolfe said she “did not believe” the allegations levelled against Mr Roberts-Smith regarding the killings of detained Afghanis.
She also described allegations against him of domestic violence as “outrageous”.
“Having known Ben for a number of years, he is not the kind of person who would hit a woman,” she said. “In my observation he has always been in control of his emotions.”
