The Northern Territory government and police force have confirmed NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker is on leave, amid media reports that he has been asked to resign from his position.
Sources have told the ABC Commissioner Chalker was informed on Friday that the NT government would ask him to take leave.
His contract is due to expire in November this year, and the government was expected to inform him by May whether it intended to renew it.
A NT Police spokesperson confirmed that Commissioner Chalker was on leave, with Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy acting in the role.
The spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether the commissioner had been asked to resign or when he was expected to return from his leave.
The ABC understands Commissioner Chalker had pre-arranged leave over the Easter period, with Deputy Commissioner Murphy expected to act in the role until April 19.
A NT government spokesperson said: "It is common practice for the deputy commissioner to act in the role while the commissioner is on leave. Michael Murphy has acted in the position previously."
On Tuesday, Commissioner Chalker rejected suggestions that he was about to step down, telling ABC Radio Alice Springs there was "absolutely no truth whatsoever" to rumours he would shortly take up a new position.
He said he intended to remain in the role.
Morale issues in police force during tenure
Commissioner Chalker officially began his role on November 11, 2019 — two days after Constable Zachary Rolfe fatally shot Kumanjayi Walker during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu.
Constable Rolfe was charged with murder four days after the shooting and was ultimately acquitted of all charges after a Supreme Court trial in March 2022, where the jury found he acted in self-defence when he shot Mr Walker after being stabbed in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.
Commissioner Chalker has consistently said he was not involved in the decision to arrest and charge Constable Rolfe, however the NT Police's handling of case was a source of controversy among many police.
In August 2022, a NT police union survey revealed that 79.7 per cent of members who responded did not have confidence in the commissioner.
Some 1,044 officers took part in the survey out of a total of 1,608 who were eligible.
At the time of the survey, 79.4 per cent of respondents rated morale in the NT police force as low, or very low.
At the NT Police Association (NTPA) conference days later, Commissioner Chalker told the media he had no intention to resign after the survey results.
"Surveys are never going to be popular for police management, I'm not sure there have ever been any that have been popular for us," he said.
Both the Police Minister, Kate Worden, and Opposition Leader, Lia Finocchiaro, voiced their support for Commissioner Chalker at the time.
Commissioner Chalker has been contacted for comment.
