A Tennant Creek man is facing an aggravated assault charge after being filmed putting his boot down with force on the head of child being sat on by the now suspended Barkly Regional Council mayor Jeffery McLaughlin, while threatening to bash and kill the child, but police have not said if they intend to charge Mr McLaughlin.

NT Police did not issue a press release about the charge, and the agency also did not answer questions about the matter. A police source however has told the NT Independent Graeme Kirk, 61, was issued with a notice to appear in court on a charge of aggravated assault.

The state media NT News reported police had issued a statement to the outlet that Mr Kirk was facing an aggravated assault charge over his actions against the 12-year-old boy and he was due to appear in Tennant Creek local court on November 23.

NT Police not issuing a press release about an alleged crime that was reported nationally, and involved a public official, appears to contravene the police transparency media release guidelines, which states information which falls under the category of significant events of likely public interest are “proactively considered for public release”.

It seems police did not initially investigate Mr Kirk’s or Mr McLaughin’s actions in the incident, which happened on August 21, despite the suspended Mayor having said he called police while he sat on the child for what he said was 20 minutes. He also told the NT News he complied with police directions and that NT Police took the youth into their custody.

However, there was a police investigation announced after the NT Independent published two short videos showing part of the interaction between the men and the boy on October 6 and 7.

In one video, Mr Kirk is seen and heard yelling and putting his boot on the child’s head with force while threatening to kill him, while in the other video Mr McLaughlin can be heard yelling at the child, “I’ll sit here as long as I fucking have to” and mimicking demands made by Mr Kirk, while Mr Kirk runs at the defenceless boy as if to kick him in the head.

The NT News reported neither Mr McLaughlin or the boy at the centre of the incident were charged by police but the officers were still investigating. NT Police did not answer the NT Independent when asked whether Mr McLaughlin was expected to be charged.

At 5:16am the day after Chief Minister Natasha Fyles was hit in the face with a cream-covered crepe on September 24, police issued a press release saying real estate agent Suzi Milgate was charged with aggravated assault over that incident.

The NT Independent was unable to contact Mr Kirk. His son Andrew Kirk blocked this newspaper from messaging him using Facebook after contacting him for a response to the charge.

However, Andrew Kirk previously told The Australian that his father regretted what he did but was “angry, frustrated and fed up” with break-ins at their home and youth crime.

“He regrets saying certain things in the heat of the moment but obviously he was filled with anger and frustration at finding an intruder in his residence,” he said, adding that Alice Springs detectives had interviewed his father that weekend.

The suspended mayor said in a Facebook statement after the NT Independent published the first video that he was making a citizen’s arrest of a boy attempting to break into his family home, as he was “lawfully entitled to”.

“The force I used to apprehend the youth was entirely reasonable in the circumstances,” he said.

He blamed Mr Kirk for “inappropriate” actions that he did “not encourage”.

At no time did Mr McLaughlin explain why he permitted and assisted Mr Kirk to threaten to kick, punch and kill the boy he was sitting on, or explain why he later echoed the man’s threatening comments.

Mr McLaughlin also told the media that he was the boy’s grandfather, presumed to be meant in a cultural sense, and had spoken to the boy’s parents and grandparents and undertook restorative justice

The NT Independent spoke to the child’s parents, who this publication has chosen not to name, as well as Noel Hays, the boy’s real grandfather in a cultural sense.

The family said Mr McLaughlin had never contacted them about his treatment of their son and grandson and provided no restorative justice as he had claimed.