By Cameron Myles
A 16-year-old boy will face Perth Children’s Court in the new year after allegedly punching and kicking a police officer outside Optus Stadium following.
The officer was on a motorbike patrol outside the stadium when he approached the teenager, who was charging his electronic motorbike with a group of youths, about 2.25pm on Saturday.
Police had previously received several reports of a big group of young people creating a disturbance, riding bikes, scooters, e-bikes and electronic motorbikes through Perth, Northbridge and Burswood.
A group of up to 60 youths had been on a “rideout” event through Perth, which began at Elizabeth Quay and took the riders through CBD streets.
However, after a short interaction at the stadium, police allege the boy punched and kicked the officer and fled the scene on his bike, as about 30 juveniles surrounded the officer.
Vision of the attack shared on social media showed the officer heavily outnumbered as he was knocked to the ground.
The officer was left with cuts and bruises to his face and was treated at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. The 16-year-old was promptly arrested a short distance away.
The teenager has been charged with assaulting a public officer and is set to appear before Perth Children’s Court on January 22.
Road policing command Inspector Steve Walters said a group of about 60 youths had been “terrorising” the city’s CBD on bikes, e-bikes and electronic motorbikes earlier in the day.
“We’ve had all sorts of allegations, from weaving in and out of traffic to damaging cars to possibly even assaulting other people,” he said.
“Police were in the area to deal with that matter, and when one of the officers who was conducting a patrol on the outside of Optus Stadium approached and spoke to this young man, who was surrounded by a group of up to 30, at which time he was assaulted.”
Walters vowed to look at the incident “from every angle”, and refuted claims posted alongside footage on social media which alleged the officer had struck out at the boy first.
“I’m confident the officer hasn’t attempted to strike anybody, if anything, he’s probably reached out to effect an arrest at that time,” he said.
“I’ll let the investigators carry on with their job to find the right conclusions.”
Police had formed and investigative team to identify other offenders from the group.
“Those who have done the wrong thing, be assured that we are coming after you, and expect a knock on your door,” Walters said.
But Walters also put the organisers of the “rideout” on notice – as well as parents across Perth.
He said it wasn’t the first time such behaviour had been seen at the events, and police would be watching and would be prepared next time.
And he said parents needed to take responsibility for their children.
“When we’ve got young teenagers roaming around the CBD, creating disturbances and acting in an anti-social behaviour way, then the parents have got to speak to their kids and ask them what are they doing,” he said.
“When you’ve got young kids that are so willing to be so violent and show that real pack mentality to a police officer, you ought to wonder what’s going on.”
Charges laid over shopping centre axe chase
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy has been charged after allegedly chasing a juvenile through a Mandurah shopping centre while armed with a tomahawk.
Police allege the boy was involved in an altercation with a group of juveniles at the shopping centre about 3.30pm on Boxing Day.
He allegedly left and returned with the axe, before chasing one of the juveniles through the centre.
Police arrested the boy the following day, and was charged with being armed in a way that may cause fear.
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