NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy denies systemic problem, says ‘courage’ key to stamping out police racism

Michael Murphy says ‘courage’ is the key to stamp out pockets of racism in the NT Police force, but denies systemic problem as he responds to Zach Rolfe’s damning allegations.

NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy says members of the force were justified in feeling horrified and disgraced by explosive allegations made during the Kumanjayi Walker inquest. Photo by PEMA TAMANG PAKHRIN

Commissioner Michael Murphy says both he and the Northern Territory Police force have changed significantly over recent decades, denying a problem of systemic racism as he pledges to stamp out “pockets” of bad behaviour.

Damning allegations of “widespread” racism in NT Police were made by former Constable Zach Rolfe during an inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker last week, including that the Commissioner himself racially abused staff at a Chinese restaurant more than two decades ago.

Commissioner Murphy denies any memory of the incident, and said what mattered was “who I am now”.

“I’m not racist. I’ve grown a lot in time over 25 years and to the position I’m in now, and I care deeply about the community,” he said.

Former Constable Zach Rolfe claimed racism was widespread in the NT Police force during his evidence at the Kumanjayi Walker inquest in Alice Springs last week. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

A joint investigation into Mr Rolfe’s allegations of racism in the police is being carried out by the ICAC and police’s Professional Standards Command.

Part of the investigation is to confirm the authenticity of an internal police certificate for “feral behaviour” set on a background of the Aboriginal flag, which Mr Rolfe claimed was called the “c--n of the year” award.

In the inquest, police denied the existence of a racially motivated award, instead claiming there was a “Nugeda” award for lack of intelligence or personal hygiene.

Commissioner Murphy admitted that whether or not the certificates were real, he accepted using the trophy for the Nugeda award – a makeshift weapon seized during riots in an Aboriginal community – could be perceived as racist.

He confirmed the award, renamed the “Voldemort” award in 2022, had been abolished and the trophy removed last week.

Commissioner Murphy said Indigenous officers were rightfully “hurting and horrified and disgraced” by what they had heard in the inquest, and he was committed to repairing trust both internally and with the public.

“I’ll do everything in my personal and professional sphere to make this a better police force to serve our community,” he said.

Michael Murphy. Photo by PEMA TAMANG PAKHRIN

Asked if police policies were appropriate to deal with pockets of racism, Commissioner Murphy said the main thing needed was “courage”.

“We have sufficient processes in place, what I need is a human courage to make sure we address it,” he said.

“We need to actually challenge each other about the conduct and language that we see.”

Culture within the police force had “changed significantly” over the decades, he said, and despite “pockets” of racist behaviour he denied a systemic problem in the workforce.

“We do have pockets of people who continue to use language or behave in a way that’s addressed really quickly, but it’s not wide reaching,” he said.

“We have a highly professional and ethical police force who work incredibly hard to look after the community, and predominantly a lot of our victims and offenders are First Nations people, so we’ve got compassion for them.”

Commissioner Murphy said there were some systemic barriers to Indigenous people entering the force that he was working to remove, such as written English exams, and candidates being ruled out for minor criminal histories such as driving offences.