Racial tensions flare after Australian policeman charged with murdering Aboriginal teen

An Australian policeman has been charged with murder after shooting an Aboriginal teenager.

Kumanjayi Walker, 19, was shot while being arrested at a house in Yuendumu, in the Northern Territories last week. 

There was no medical care available in the town and he died at the police station before medical staff could arrive from another town, reports the BBC.

Constable Zachary Rolfe was arrested on Wednesday and charged with murder.

Rolfe, who is set to plead not guilty, has been granted bail and has since returned to his family in Canberra. 

The death sparked racial tensions in Australia, especially after Rolfe was granted bail.

Walker's family criticised the decision, saying that bail would not have been granted to an Aboriginal person facing murder charges. 

"It's hopeless...they let him out," Eddie Robertson, the grandfather of Walker's partner, told The Australian. 

"I believe that, in this case, maybe he should go through Aboriginal law. He should be speared (in the leg). He would still be alive after that."

On Thursday, more than 1000 people protested in Alice Springs.

Northern Territories' Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, called for calm amid the anger.

"What I ask for, right here, right now, is that everyone remains ­respectful to each other," The Australian reported Gunner saying. "We cannot let and will not let this divide us."