EXCLUSIVE: NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy misled Coroner Elisabeth Armitage in two separate coronial inquests, first when he claimed at the inquest into domestic violence that a senior officer who shared a picture on social media of a half-naked domestic violence survivor could not be disciplined because it would affect his family and later when he claimed at another inquest that he would order a review into the matter.

The latest revelations of senior police misleading the courts comes amid the fallout of a flawed ICAC investigation which found there was “no admissible evidence” to lay charges against five senior officers involved with the TRG’s racist awards who lied on sworn statements to the court that the TRG “Nooguda” awards were not based on race.

The decision not to pursue any further action against the five senior officers has caused turmoil in the ranks of the NT Police, with many who respect the officers for their previous work having to reconcile that with the crime of committing perjury and the impression that the police executive have covered up their crimes by dropping all investigations and taking no internal disciplinary action.

The ICAC’s delegate Patricia Kelly stated in her report of Operation Beaufort that that no further action could be taken against the five officers because commissioner Michael Riches had given “assurances” to officers who came forward that they would have their identities protected, which led to no admissible evidence for prosecution.

On May 20, 2024, Mr Murphy was questioned at the inquest into the deaths of four Indigenous women at the hands of their partners about his decision to overturn an internal police disciplinary action against the Alice Springs-based senior sergeant who shared the image of a topless Aboriginal woman in a group chat on social media in 2022, in which the officers made offensive and racist comments.

It was revealed then that Mr Murphy unilaterally overruled his own Professional Standards Command that ordered the officer’s demotion and relocation from Alice Springs to Katherine.

Mr Murphy said he took “a number of factors” into account while deciding to overrule the disciplinary action, including fears the officer would misuse sick leave and not come back to work.

“The transfer to Katherine would have separated his family and I had to consider that,” Mr Murphy said.

The NT Independent has confirmed that the officer does not have any family in the Northern Territory. When confronted with this information today, Mr Murphy declined to comment.

“Northern Territory Police do not publicly provide private information of its members,” a spokesman responded to direct questions about why he made the comment.

One source told the NT Independent that the NT Police force is “a small one” and many knew Mr Murphy was lying to the courts when he made the statement that was reported in media at the time.

“Anyone who knows this officer is fully aware that he has no family in the Territory, no kids and no partner,” they said.

A little over a week later on May 29, at the Inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker, Mr Murphy was asked again about the incident involving the officer sharing the image and his decision to overrule disciplinary action against him. In this instance, Mr Murphy was shown the photo that he agreed showed blood on the woman as a result of an assault she had suffered, which is understood to have been domestic violence related, and was asked if it needed to be “investigated further”.

Mr Murphy said if he had to do it over again he would have taken a firmer stance on the issue, admitting it was racist to share the picture of the woman in distress and make derogatory comments about her. In response to the question of whether it needed to be further investigated, he said he would “need to go and talk to the Commander of Professional Standards and get a review”.

The NT Independent has confirmed that no action has been taken to revisit the case with Professional Standards Command and that Mr Murphy has not raised it internally at any time.

Mr Murphy did not respond when asked why he did not order a review as he told the courts he would, with the spokesman saying: “The Northern Territory Police remain respectful of the coronial process and will continue to do so”.

He added: “There has been significant evidence already provided to the inquest and further submissions are due as we continue our cooperation with the process”.

Mr Murphy had also attempted to suggest at the Walker inquest that the officer who shared the image had admitted he was wrong to share it and showed contrition. This was refuted by the officer’s own words, in which he told police investigators that it was “an attempt at light-hearted humour” and that he did nothing wrong.

Rank and file members are frustrated by the ongoing double standards in the police force involving certain rules for some officers and cover-ups of improper conduct for senior officers.

A source said Mr Murphy’s deception at the various inquests undermines the work he pledged to do to rebuild trust with Indigenous Territorians.

“It undermines the legitimacy of the cultural reform targets set out … and the apology [to Indigenous Territiorians],” they said.

Mr Murphy was previously found to have lied to the public when he claimed in February that he was not aware of the TRG Nooguda awards, despite being told about them and the fact 100 people had evidence of them in August 2023 – a month before he overruled the disciplinary action against the officer. He claimed at the Walker inquest that the lie to the public was not “intentional” and that he had been too busy to investigate them last year.

The inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker resumed on Wednesday and will conclude hearings on Thursday. Ms Armitage’s findings are not expected until some time next year.