UPDATED: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has added more uncertainty and instability in the NT Police, claiming on Monday morning that she only today became aware Acting Police Commissioner Martin Dole was on the same mismanaged hiring panel as Michael Murphy to appoint a senior role, despite being asked about it on Sunday and being given a briefing by the ICAC late last month, adding that she holds “no concerns” about a culture of cronyism in the NT Police.
A police officer was injured early Sunday morning in Alice Springs when a stolen Toyota Hilux accelerated and rammed into his parked vehicle, causing a suspected concussion, NT Police said.
Police Commissioner Michael Murphy will not be referred for a criminal investigation into his proven improper conduct, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said at her first press conference since moving to terminate his contract, but again refused to explain why she did not take action as soon as she became aware of Mr Murphy’s improper conduct.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has finally told Police Commissioner Michael Murphy to resign, stating he has “lost the confidence of the Government”, but it appears he has been placed on leave while his contract is terminated, according to an unusual Saturday night statement from her office.
Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Kennon, whose promotion was at the centre of the recent ICAC investigation, went from a Superintendent to Acting Deputy Commissioner in roughly 18-months after his close friend Michael Murphy, who had been his best man, became Police Commissioner, sources have told the NT Independent.
The NT Police Association has called for Police Commissioner Michael Murphy to resign, following revelations he engaged in misconduct and failed to manage a serious conflict of interest by hiring a mate for a senior role, which has “ignited widespread frustration and anger” within the police rank-and-file, who are once again questioning the integrity of their leadership.
Police Commissioner Michael Murphy is the “senior public officer” the ICAC found engaged in improper conduct by hiring a mate for a senior role in the NT Police, but he has refused to resign, despite the findings that his actions amounted to “negligence and incompetence”.
Three females, one as young as 14, have been arrested for allegedly assaulting and robbing a 101-year-old man in a mobility scooter on Mitchell Street last night, NT Police said.
A 31-year-old woman has been charged with murder after allegedly stabbing her partner in Darwin on Friday night, NT Police said.
A 45-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly using a car to run over her partner in Alice Springs, NT Police said.
A woman is in a critical condition in Royal Darwin Hospital after her partner allegedly stabbed her in the stomach, back, and legs in her home in a remote community, while police had to be brought in to quell a fight that broke out between the couple’s families outside the medical clinic, NT Police said.
A group of males “attempting to start” a Toyota Landcruiser in the staff car park at the Darwin Airport on Wednesday evening kicked off a long night of stolen vehicle action for NT Police, that saw a police vehicle rammed and projectiles thrown at officers.
