South Australian police officer Waylon Johncock has issued a statement following immense public outrage over his actions in stoning a wombat to death.
Johncock was cleared of all charges last week after an inquiry by SA Police found that his actions were “not inconsistent with traditional Indigenous practices,” 7News reports.
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The lack of consequences for Johncock’s actions sparked outrage online, with thousands of animal rights activists voicing their thoughts on social media.
Senior Community Constable Waylon Johncock has now spoken out in a letter to NITV apologising to the Kokatha and Wirangu people for the shame his actions have brought to them.
“Born on the West Coast of South Australia into a proud Kokotha/Wirangu family, I was introduced to hunting Native tucker at a very young age. The knowledge and skills I have gained over the years to understand our land and effectively hunt native animals independently I will pass onto my children.”
“In relation to the wombat matter it was never my intention to cause anyone distress,” Johncock said. “Looking back, however, I can now clearly see how such raw content can be offensive to anyone who is unfamiliar with our Traditional hunting practices.”
According to NITV, Elders in the local Ceduna community said that there was nothing wrong with the way that he killed the wombat in the unedited version of the video. The wombat was shared with Johncock’s family after it was killed.
“I completely agree with our traditional Elders that the footage shouldn’t have been posted on social media because it gave the outside world a look into our traditional ways of living, and for that I am deeply sorry.”
Throughout the statement, Johncock also references death threats made against his family, including his young children.
“As a result of this I have been under attack from the outside world and received hundreds of death threats, some of these threats have been targeted at my family but the most disturbing of all were the ones written and targeted at my children.”
NITV also reports that Johncock regularly takes part in community hunting trips to provide food for Elders.
Waylon Johncock will remain in his current role of community constable and will not face any criminal charges for his actions.
You can read the full statement on the NITV website here.
