‘Racial profiling’ in Indigenous teen’s gunpoint arrest
The family of an Aboriginal teenager who was mistakenly taken off a bus and arrested in the nation’s capital have described the incident as an example of racial profiling and police brutality.
While the 17-year-old was going to visit his family, the bus was stopped by police cars on November 12.
His family said ACT police racially profiled the boy, took him off the bus with guns drawn and handcuffed him, then compared a photo on his phone and realized they were looking for the wrong person.
“This is not policing, this is harassment; it is a prime example of police brutality and racial profiling,” his family said in a statement Thursday morning.
“A child who had never committed a crime was treated as a criminal, treated as a threat, and treated as less than human.”
Reading their statement to the media, the child’s aunts, Mikaila McEwan and Kristie Peters, said that the incident was a gross violation of the child’s human rights.
“Officers pointed guns at him… dragged him outside, slammed him to the ground… causing pain and difficulty breathing,” they said.
“Even after he admitted they had the wrong child, the officer still searched for him.”
ACT Police say they responded to reports of a man armed with a knife at a shopping center in Woden.
They received information that a young man matching the description of the criminal was on the bus.
Police said in a statement that officers detained the teenager “for a brief period of time” until they realized he was not the person they were looking for.
“We accept that this will be a very distressing incident for both the young man and the other passengers on the bus and we apologize for this.
“Given that police responded to multiple eyewitness accounts of an active armed criminal in a densely populated area of Canberra, officers took urgent action to prevent the worst-case scenario – further harm to the public – from occurring.”
The family wants the officers involved to be investigated and dismissed while the investigation process continues.
They also asked to see body-worn camera footage of the incident so they could formally acknowledge and apologize for racial profiling by police.
Indigenous community advocates called the incident outrageous and unacceptable.
“I’m appalled, it’s absolutely disgusting,” Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services general manager Julie Tongs said.
“If there was a bus full of black kids, would they do what they did to the only white kid on that bus? I don’t think so.”
“They need to take a long, hard look at themselves.”
ACT Acting Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, Barbara Causon, said the incident would have a ripple effect in the community and affect young people’s views of the police.
“I understand that police play a very important role in keeping our community safe, but this innocent young boy was not safe,” he said.
“He was injured, he was traumatized, he wasn’t safe.”
Police said they met with the teenager and his family to discuss the incident.
A complaint had been received and would be investigated through the Australian Federal Police professional standards command.
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