TRG officers sent to Wadeye after unrest after community unrest

TERRITORY Response Group officers have been dispatched to Wadeye in response to “community unrest” and attacks on police in recent weeks

TRG officers have been sent to Wadeye to help quell community unrest.

TERRITORY Response Group officers have been dispatched to Wadeye in response to “community unrest” and attacks on police in recent weeks.

The TRG was called in by local police on Tuesday night to assist in the arrest of eight men who have since been charged with rioting and being armed in public.

Commissioner Reece Kershaw said police had been the target of some of the violence.

“There was various threats and assaults, our police officers were also threatened and various rocks were thrown and so on, so those particular people have been arrested for those offences,” he said.

Mr Kershaw said the unrest had been sparked by “commentary on social media that has agitated various families”.

“We’re working with the traditional owners and the elders out there to resolve some of these conflicts,” he said.

“We have sent the Territory Response Group out there at the request of the local police and we’re confident that we’ll be able to ensure that we restore community (order) and I’m advised that they’ve already made eight arrests in relation to some of the incidents in the last 48 hours.”

Wadeye Police Station officer in charge Senior Sergeant Andrew Heath said two police cars had suffered minor damage as a result of the unrest.

“Police have been conducting frequent, high-visibility patrols and working with community elders and other stakeholders in order to resolve the issues,” he said.

“Police will continue to work with the community to resolve same.”

The latest unrest comes after a Wadeye cop fired “several” warning shots into the air when confronted by a large group of locals armed with weapons in June last year.

In that incident another three cops were assaulted and two police cars were damaged by locals amid escalating tension sparked by the release of a man from prison who was jailed for killing a rival clan member. The eight arrested men will be transported from Wadeye to appear in Darwin Local Court today.