Police officers may hesitate due to racism fears: Police Commissioner
SA’s top cop says he worries officers may hesitate to make arrests out of concern for being labelled racist in the wake of bystander video showing an officer punching an indigenous man.
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- SA Police officer filmed punching Aboriginal man in Kilburn arrest
- Police apology as officer comments spark new racism scandal
Police officers may hesitate when apprehending non-caucasian suspects for fear of being labelled racist in the wake of video of a violent arrest at Kilburn emerging this week, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens warns.
Mr Stevens said he wants to discourage people, and the media, from jumping to conclusions “in the absence of facts” when they see a violent arrest being carried out.
“Whenever you see video or footage of an arrest where defensive tactics are used or operational safety equipment is used, it is never going to look good,” he said.
“These are violent confrontations and police officers are involved in violent confrontations almost on a daily basis.
“I would just caution people to think about jumping to a conclusion in the absence of facts.”
It comes after video footage of an arrest of an Aboriginal man at Kilburn on Monday night was posted on social media.
The video, which appeared to show an officer punching the apprehended man as he was being restrained by other officers, sparked concerns by witnesses and indigenous campaigners that the police action may have been racially motivated.
An internal investigation has been launched into the handling of the arrest and two officers involved have been placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of the inquiry.
Mr Stevens urged people not to draw conclusions about the incident before the investigation was completed and warned of the consequences of making assumptions.
“I’m confident that the men and women of the South Australian Police will do their job and do it to an incredibly high standard,” he said.
“But I would also understand if this is the type of focus that they’re going to be put under every time they are required to apprehend an offender that they may hesitate and they may think about the consequences of being branded something they are not in the absence of any particular inquiry.”
The Kilburn incident began when police officers attended Albert St about 8.15pm on Monday in relation to a domestic violence matter and saw a man leaving the area on a bicycle.
They suspected he was in possession of illicit drugs and asked him to place his hands on his head while they searched him.
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The 28-year-old Kilburn man was initially charged with hindering police, resisting police and property damage but the charges were dropped and he was released from police custody the following day.
However, the matter remains the subject of further investigation.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, an SA Police officer attacked refugee and award-winning human rights advocate Nyadol Nyuon on social media after she appeared on the ABC’s Q&A program on Monday night.
The officer told Ms Nyuon, who was born in an Ethiopian refugee camp and came to Australia in 2005, to “Stop blaming white man and pulling the race card you ignorant c***.”
SA Police apologised for the officer’s comments and are investigating the matter.