Don Dale ‘survivor’ Dylan Voller arrested for allegedly assaulting police

The Indigenous man who as a teenager became the face of systemic inequality in the justice system has been jailed.

Dylan Voller came to public attention after CCTV footage emerged of him shackled to a chair, his head covered with a spit hood, at the Don Dale detention centre. Picture: Lukas Coch / AAP

The Indigenous man who as a teenager became the face of systemic inequality in the criminal justice system will spend the next six weeks behind bars after he was charged with multiple counts of assaulting and resisting police.

Dylan Voller was arrested on Wednesday morning after allegedly spitting at police, verbally abusing officers, driving while disqualified and possessing stolen goods.

The 24-year-old faced a magistrate at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday morning, where he was remanded in custody.

Voller came to public attention after CCTV footage emerged of him shackled to a chair, his head covered with a spit hood, at the Don Dale detention centre in the Northern Territory. The shocking images sparked a royal commission that found the centre put the health, safety and wellbeing of children at serious risk.

On Wednesday Voller was charged with five counts of assault police officer in execution of duty, one count of resisting police, possessing stolen goods and driving while disqualified.

Police say following his arrest he was taken to hospital for assessment.

Dylan Voller at Downing Centre Court in May. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“About 10am yesterday (Wednesday 31 August 2022), officers attached to Sydney City Police Area Command stopped a Holden Captiva on Wattle Crescent, Pyrmont,” a NSW Police spokesman said.

“When police spoke to the 24-year-old male driver, who failed to produce a valid driver’s licence and was arrested.

“The man allegedly became verbally abusive and resisted police, refusing to get out of the vehicle before he was physically removed.

“During the arrest, the man allegedly spat in the direction of an officer before he was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for assessment, where he allegedly spat in the direction of another officer,” the statement says.

He was then taken to Day Street police station where he was charged and refused bail.

In an opinion piece published by SBS in November last year, Voller wrote that he did not “want to just be known as the boy in a restraint chair”.

“I want to be known as a young man, a survivor, that broke out of a system like that and continues to fight,” he said

Voller’s case will return to court on October 13.