Amid media reports Northern Territory Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker has been asked to resign, the chief minister is refusing to comment on the future of his position.
Sources have told the ABC that Commissioner Chalker was informed on Friday that the NT government would ask him to take leave.
But with the police commissioner currently on pre-arranged leave over the Easter period, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles is refusing to comment.
So, how did we get here?
What is the current state of play?
Commissioner Chalker is on leave and Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy is acting in the position.
But Ms Fyles has repeatedly refused to confirm how long that arrangement will be in place.
Instead, she has avoided questions about the future of the NT police force's leadership by simply repeating a pre-prepared line:
"The police commissioner is on leave and Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy is acting," Ms Fyles said.
"The police service have been advised of that."
For months, speculation has been rife that Commissioner Chalker's leadership was potentially in doubt, but just last week the commissioner himself denied the rumours on live radio.
Several days before taking pre-planned leave, he told the ABC there was "absolutely no truth whatsoever" to speculation he was about to take up a security position in Timor Leste.
Previously, Ms Fyles has confirmed she had confidence in her top cop.
But when asked directly on Monday, she told media she would not "go into details" nor provide "ongoing commentary".
Let's go back to 2019
Two days before Commissioner Chalker officially took the reins of the Northern Territory police force, then-constable Zachary Rolfe shot dead a 19-year-old Aboriginal man, during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu.
The shooting strained the community relationships with police that the incoming police commissioner had earlier vowed to improve.
When Mr Rolfe was charged with murder four days after the shooting, it angered many police.
Commissioner Chalker has always maintained he had nothing to do with that decision.
However, the effect on police morale of an officer being charged with one of the most serious offences in the criminal code, for conduct whilst on the job, could not be ignored.
Mr Rolfe was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death, after a Supreme Court trial last year, which heard he had shot Mr Walker after being stabbed with a pair of scissors.
On Tuesday, he was dismissed from NT Police due to alleged "serious breaches of discipline", according to a statement released by the force.
The ABC understands that the dismissal is unrelated to the events on the night of Mr Walker's death and concerns a 2,500 word statement attributed to Mr Rolfe which criticised the coronial inquest into Mr Walker's death and Mr Rolfe's treatment by NT Police.
Mr Rolfe's lawyers said he intends to appeal the NT Police decision.
Morale issues exacerbated by coronavirus response
When Commissioner Chalker, a career cop, rejoined the force in 2019 after three years heading the NT's housing department, he walked into a police force that had already been struggling with morale issues for years.
Former commissioner John McRoberts had, around a year earlier, been jailed for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Commissioner Chalker's immediate predecessor, Reece Kershaw, had departed the role suddenly, after being appointed Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, a role in which he remains.
Months into his new role, Commissioner Chalker also took on an additional one: that of Territory Controller, in which he oversaw the NT's coronavirus response.
The responsibility of implementing the NT government's lockdowns, border closures and isolation compliance checks immediately fell to the police force's frontline, where officers were redeployed from their usual jobs and asked to work unprecedented overtime hours.
Those who rotated through border checkpoints in some of the most remote parts of the country were separated from their families for weeks at a time.
The police force was stretched thin, and Commissioner Chalker took the heat from unhappy cops.
Lack of confidence described as a 'crisis'
In August last year, a NT Police Association (NTPA) survey revealed 79.7 per cent of association members who responded did not have confidence in Commissioner Chalker.
Some 1,044 officers took part in the survey out of 1,608 who were eligible.
At the time, Commissioner Chalker said he had been aware of the sentiment and had no plans to resign from the role.
"Surveys are never going to be popular for police management. I'm not sure that there's ever been any that have been popular for us," Commissioner Chalker said.
NTPA president Paul McCue said the results were an indication that the force was in "crisis".
"[Union members] think morale is at an all-time low, and there clearly needs to be an urgent review into staffing which is completely insufficient to undertake the roles our members are being forced to do," Mr McCue said in August 2022.
Last month, it was revealed 85 per cent of police union members surveyed had considered leaving the force sometime in the past 12 months.
Commissioner Chalker and government ministers have previously attributed the police attrition rate to recruitment drives by police forces interstate.
In the wake of the confidence survey more than six months ago, Police Minister Kate Worden and Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison voiced their support of Commissioner Chalker.
What happens now?
If Ms Fyles was to continue refusing to answer questions about Commissioner Chalker, clear answers about his future could be some weeks away.
The media manager of NT Police on Sunday said that Commissioner Chalker's pre-arranged Easter leave was scheduled to end on April 19.
When the ABC asked the chief minister what Commissioner Chalker's role would be by that time, she said: "I know I am sounding very repetitive and it's not intended to frustrate people, but he is on leave."
"Michael Murphy is acting, a role he has fulfilled in the past. That has been provided to the NT police service, so they understand who the acting commissioner is, and I won't be providing any further commentary."
The ABC has attempted to contact Commissioner Chalker.
