Family speaks out after Jeffrey McLaughlin’s ‘citizen’s arrest’

The family of a 12-year-old boy filmed being ‘arrested’ by the Tennant Creek mayor have spoken out say their son has no medical disorder, and welcome a police investigation.

The family of a young boy subject to a citizen’s arrest by the Tennant Creek mayor say he does not have fetal alcohol syndrome disorder and have welcomed a police investigation into the incident.

The Barkly region residents and parents of the 12-year-old who was held to the ground by mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin and sworn at, had a boot placed on his head and physically threatened by another man during the 20-minute ordeal, say the heavy-handed treatment was unnecessary and too much.

The pair say their child does not have FASD and any claims otherwise were completely false.

The arrest took place when the boy was allegedly seen breaking into the home of mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin’s near-neighbour on August 21.

“They could have handled it properly instead of (the other man) threatening him,” the boy’s father said.

“They could have held him standing up but not like that.

“I’m not okay with how they handled it, (the other man) putting a boot on his head and threatening to punch him in the face.”

“He doesn’t have (FASD), that’s just making things up. He’s got no disorder,” his mother said.

Both parents learnt of the incident on Saturday, about six weeks after an unidentified woman recorded the incident and subsequent exchanges.

The clearly terrified child is heard pleading ‘mister, mister’ as the long-time Tennant Creek resident, who was not the mayor, stands over him and threatens violence.

Shortly after he could be seen putting his boot on the child’s head.

“He was scared,” the boy’s dad said.

“He thought they were going to flog him.”

The NT News has attempted to contact the other man involved in the incident.

Mr McLaughlin previously told this publication he had made a citizen’s arrest on the child as he was “lawfully entitled to”.

“The force I used to apprehend the youth was entirely reasonable in the circumstances,” he said at the weekend.

“I immediately called NT Police and requested their attendance at the scene.

“Whilst the spontaneous remarks and conduct of the other adult male in the footage can rightly be described as inappropriate, they are not mine and I did not encourage them.

“As soon as police arrived, I complied with their directions and NT Police took the youth into their custody.”

The child has stayed in the Barkly region since the incident and was attending school.

“He’s a good kid, who gets influenced by others,” the boy’s dad said.

“Sometime other bigger ones threaten little ones to go with them (and commit crimes).”

He said his son had never been charged with an offence but said had been caught breaking into a prominent community resident’s home, although charges were never laid over the incident and no police action was taken.

A former Tennant Creek alderman denied Mr McLaughlin had spoken with members of the boy’s family immediately after the incident.

Mr McLaughlin is on sick leave from council and could not be reached for comment but has previously said his intervention was “restorative justice” and denied any wrongdoing.

Alice Springs police are investigating.

CORRECTION: Earlier reporting on this incident wrongly stated the boy had fetal alcohol syndrome disorder. That was incorrect. The NT News apologises to the boy and his family.