Investigation launched after police officer’s clash with Aboriginal elder goes viral
A police officer is under investigation after footage went viral of an altercation with an Aboriginal elder who ended up on the ground.
WA News
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Footage of a police officer in an altercation with an Aboriginal elder to the ground will be “thoroughly investigated” by WA Police after the video went viral on social media.
The video, posted to Instagram by Indigenous woman Dreamtime Aroha, shows the elderly man speaking to the officer in the park.
The officer puts his left leg behind the man’s legs before the man falls to the ground. The elder can be seen stumbling to his feet before falling again.
The officer gets into his police car and drives away.
“THIS IS TODAY IN BROOME WA,” the caption states.
“THIS IS HOW @wa_police TREAT ABORIGINAL ELDERS.”
The video has now been viewed more than 150,000 times.
In a statement to news.com.au, WA Police said they were aware of the incident.
“About 2:00pm Tuesday 18 February 2025, Broome Police were patrolling an oval on Hammersley Street in Broome,” the statement said.
“Police spoke with a member of the public. An altercation occurred and the man was knocked to the ground.
“The circumstances of this incident will be thoroughly investigated.”
The woman who filmed the incident – Jeanette – told ABC News the incident began when the officer tried to search the man’s bag.
“I felt sad, we can’t do nothing about it only just record from afar,” she said.
The region of Kimberley is about 2000 kilometres north of Perth.
According to the 2021 census, the Kimberley region has the largest Aboriginal population in WA with an estimated 14,408 Aboriginal people representing 41.1 per cent of the community.
Know more? Contact our reporter. Sarah.Keoghan@news.com.au.
Originally published as Investigation launched after police officer’s clash with Aboriginal elder goes viral
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