Police association slams ABC for its ‘continual efforts’ to ‘discredit’ work of NT police

THE NT Police Association has slammed the ABC for what it called a ‘sensationalist’ report into an NT watch house incident, saying the broadcaster ‘should be ashamed of (its) continual efforts to discredit the good work that police ... do’

The NT Police Association has slammed the ABC for what it called its ‘sensationalist journalism’ and its use of ‘manipulated footage’. Picture: ABC

• CCTV captures NT cop threatening to ‘belt the f***’ out of teens: ABC report

THE NT Police Association has slammed the ABC for a “sensationalist” report using what was described as “manipulated footage”, saying the taxpayer-funded broadcaster “should be ashamed of (its) continual efforts to discredit the good work that police continue to do across our community”.

The police association was responding to an ABC story on Monday which reported that CCTV footage showed an NT police officer shoving and verbally abusing a teenage boy in the Alice Springs watch house, before threatening to “belt the f*** out” of three others..

The four youths had been arrested after allegedly stealing a car and leading police on a high speed car chase.

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The vision, recorded in March 2018 and obtained by the ABC following a Freedom of Information request, shows two officers standing with the boy at the charge counter, when the teenager says: “I’d smack you in the head every day”, the ABC reported.

The comment seems to prompt one officer to grab the boy’s arm and twist it around his back, as the second officer asks “did you threaten me?”

In its story, the ABC says an officer can be heard saying “you’re a little c***, that’s all you are” and “(sit the) f*** down, threaten a police officer in a f***ing police station get knocked the f*** out.”

In response, NTPA president Paul McCue slammed the ABC for its use of what he said was “manipulated footage”.

Mr McCue said the ABC “should be ashamed of (its) continual efforts to discredit the good work that police continue to do across our community through sensationalist journalism such as this”.

He said NT police continue to do an outstanding job, “attending thousands of jobs each and every week”.

“To single out an event from years ago is outrageous, and one has to question the real purpose for doing so,” the police association president said.

Mr McCue queried why this particular event had been singled out and cautioned “anyone making comment on what they are only shown in the video alone”.

“The NTPA questions the real reasons behind release of this manipulated footage which is several years old,” he said.

“It serves no other purpose other than to divide the community and hide the real problem of what is going on in the community, such as why we have children, sometimes very young, walking the streets each and every night unsupervised and without appropriate care.

“The footage is not played in full, and the matter has been dealt with through the complaints process. That is where it should end.”

The ABC reported that, in the CCTV footage, when speaking to the four youths, a police officer says: “I’m in the mood to f***ing lose my job tonight and I don’t mind losing it over belting the f*** out of one of you little c***s.”

The incident occurred in March 2018, less than six months after the end of the Royal Commission.

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The NT Ombudsman investigated the incident, however the outcome of any disciplinary action is unknown.