![]() ![]() His family addressed a press conference today, extending solidarity to the relatives of George Floyd and all victims of police violence. Teenagers, they’re lippy, but you don’t just abuse children because they're lippy.” He was very sore this morning and he was distraught. Speaking on Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio this morning, the teenager’s sister said: “When he came back home later that night, he was shaken up. Underscoring the fact that he had committed no crime, the 16-year-old was released from police custody without being charged. Given the manner in which he was thrown onto concrete, the injuries could have been far worse, even fatal. The youth was taken to hospital with a bruised shoulder, extensive grazing and chipped teeth. The boy screamed out in obvious distress and pain, but the officers were completely indifferent. He was then held to the ground, with one officer pinning his legs down with her knee. ![]() The 16-year-old was slammed onto the concrete, without any way of bracing the impact. Without warning, the officer kicked the boy's feet out from under him. Sharp words were exchanged.Ī male officer then marched over to another of the youths and placed his hands behind his back, as if to make an arrest. His friends objected to their treatment, with one apparently referencing the situation in the US. When the video began, one of the boys was sitting on the ground, seemingly detained by the police. Reports indicate that the boys were being questioned only because they were spending time together in a public park, a common occurrence for Aboriginal youth. The footage was taken after a group of youths were stopped by four police officers in the inner-city suburb of Surry Hills. Australian police, like their US counterparts, are trained to brutalise working class youth as part of their role in enforcing unprecedented social inequality and stamping down on mounting discontent.Īs with the murder of Floyd, the only thing that was exceptional about the police attack in Sydney was that it was captured on film, providing graphic evidence of the harassment and arbitrary state violence that oppressed and working-class youth are threatened with on a daily basis. The video of Monday’s assault gives the lie to those self-serving assertions. Morrison stated there was “no need to import” the mass protests against police violence unfolding across America. The unprovoked attack took place just hours after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared on national radio that explosive US demonstrations against the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis had little relevance to conditions in Australia. Inaccuracies may also suggest that the existing policies and training about use of force recording are unclear or not fit for purpose.Footage of Sydney police officers assaulting a 16-year-old Aboriginal boy on Monday has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media, provoking widespread anger and prompting comparisons with the brutal actions of the US police over the past week. “They undermine the effectiveness of the potential uses of the data by NSWPF – for example, in identifying trends in types of force used, identifying risks to officer or public safety from such use, or focussing training to address particular issues arising in the use of force. “Such inaccuracies are concerning to the Commission,” the report said. It also found significant under-reporting. The LECC examined a sample of 210 use of force incidents and found “widespread inconsistencies” in the way information was recorded. The spokesperson said NSW police had also recently established a panel on police powers, which provided a further opportunity to review the use of force.Ī report by the state’s Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), released in February, criticised the way NSW police recorded use of force incidents. “The statistics quoted have been obtained from ‘events’ where a use of force was recorded.” ![]() “Officers are required to record details of all force or tactical options used when completing the corresponding ‘event’ the ‘events’ are subject to a verification process, which offers an opportunity for review of the action taken. “When faced with a situation where force is used, such force must be considered reasonable and appropriate based upon the level of resistance met or the threat presented,” the spokesperson said. “The disproportionate impact of policing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people goes to the heart of the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system,” she said.Ī NSW police spokesperson said its 18,000 officers regularly face “all manner of situations and risks to their personal safety”. ![]()
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