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A former Northern Territory police officer has told an inquest that the death of Miss Yunupingu left him "inconsolable" and police were not being adequately trained to deal with domestic violence.
“The fourth of October 2018 was one of the hardest days of my career," former senior sergeant Daniel Whitfield-Jones told the inquest in Darwin.
"When I spoke to (colleagues) shortly after (her death), a number of us were inconsolable, it gutted us."
Miss Yunupingu was removed from a government-funded domestic violence support program in April 2018, months before her violent husband, Neil Marika, was released from jail and fatally stabbed her in the heart.
Mr Whitfield-Jones told the inquest into her death that he had re-referred her for the Family Safety Framework (FSF) once it became clear she and her previously incarcerated partner would be reuniting.
She was soon transferred to Darwin and the case management for her framework became the responsibility of the chair of the Darwin FSF.
"My belief at the time was that ... she would be in good hands," he said.
The officer said despite the referral from Nhulunbuy police, "there was a lacklustre response" from Darwin police and she was not re-accepted on the framework.
"(Darwin FSF) did one or two checks of a location and found she wasn't there, so she was removed," he said.
"Shortly after she was killed ... I was so f***ing angry."
"Next I was briefing (her father) to tell him his daughter had been killed, our organisation effectively allowed it to happen."
Mr Whitfield-Jones broke down in tears multiple times during his evidence on Wednesday, saying that police should not be leading the domestic violence response.
"Did you receive any specific domestic violence training?" counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer asked.
"It just didn't happen ... my personal belief is that police should not be leading these frameworks," Mr Whitfield-Jones responded
"We don't have the expertise or the knowledge, we don't understand financial control...
"I don't think bureaucrats in any uniform are the best service providers in that area."
Mr Whitfield-Jones has since left the police force due to deteriorating mental and physical health from his time in the Australian Defence Force and NT Police.
"In December last year I spoke to my superintendent and I was really struggling," he said.
Since leaving NT Police, Mr Whitfield-Jones said he had received little support from the organisation.
"When I speak to my colleagues, they're hurting... and there's nothing happening, I call bullshit on some senior executive rhetoric that they're there to help our members," he said.
NT Police acting commissioner Michael White and other senior members were present during Mr Whitfield-Jones' evidence.
Miss Yunupingu's death is one of four being looked into by NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage in one of Australia's biggest inquests into domestic violence.
"Senior police have been here on multiple occasions when time and time again we have police officers appearing ... who are brave enough to open up and explain the impacts of their work on their health," Ms Armitage said.
"We have to find a way to protect our police officers who are deeply traumatised by what they are exposed to in their job."
The inquest continues.
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