But the senior constable who made those comments has also expressed anger and disgust at the blatantly racist texts found on the phone of a fellow officer.
And he's questioned expressions of remorse from some of those involved, asking "Are you sorry you said it or are you sorry you got caught?".
Senior Constable Brad Wallace gave evidence on Thursday at the inquiry into the death of Kumanjayi Walker, the 19-year-old who was shot three times during a bungled arrest at Yuendumu in 2019.
Constable Zachary Rolfe was charged with the murder of the Warlpiri man but was acquitted after a Supreme Court trial.
The inquiry previously heard that Const Rolfe used the word c**n in a text in the months before the shooting.
He also took part in other text conversations where racist terms, such as n*****, were used to describe Aboriginal people.
Responding to the messages, Sen Const Wallace said "as a police officer I'm disgusted. As an Aboriginal man I'm angry, I'm hurt".
He said he had witnessed some very positive changes to diminish the impact of racism during his two-decade policing career.
"But what really impacted me was that after 24 years the same language was being used, albeit on what those members thought was a private platform," he said.
"I'm deeply hurt and disappointed.
"It makes me reflect on how those officers would view my family members walking down the street."
Sen Const Wallace, who joined the NT force in 2020 after serving in the Australian Federal Police for 20 years, said when he began work in Alice Springs he had been surprised at the high level of commitment from police in caring for members of the local Indigenous community.
"It was quite heartening to me. I was really shocked by the absence of racism," he said.
"I was expecting a lot of negativity and I was expecting to be confronted by words, actions and reflections that would be better placed in the past.
"I have nothing but praise for the general duties members that I have worked with here and by the leadership within the station.
"Other than some of the things that have come out during this inquest."
