Indigenous teen’s family calls for NSW Police officer to be charged with assault

Taking a knee in solidarity with George Floyd’s relatives, the family of an indigenous teen kicked to the ground during an arrest said they could pursue prosecution.

The family of an indigenous teenager kicked to the ground by a Sydney police officer says it will commence a private prosecution if charges are not placed from the internal investigation.

The arrest of the 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified, ­became public after it was filmed by a relative and posted online. His sister has called for criminal charges to be laid, saying the ­family was angered by the “un­necessary and irresponsible” use of force by the junior constable.

“Not being able to place your trust in the hands of people employed to protect you is sad and worrisome,” she said. “When you see the way these people treat our people, it is frightening. The film highlights what our people have been experiencing for years when there are not cameras around.”

The boy’s father said the footage “stirred up” memories of his own experiences with police violence as an Aboriginal teenager.

At a press conference on Wednesday, he went down on bended knee with family members and his legal team as part of a show of solidarity for George Floyd, an unarmed African-American who died last week when a white police officer knelt on his neck.

The junior constable has been put on restricted duties. Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said the constable had used a “leg sweep” in the arrest and the investigation would examine whether the use of force was appropriate.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the footage showed Australia had a “long way to go”.

“What happened in the US is a good wake-up call for all of us,” she told the ABC. “I think that all of us have our hearts breaking as to what’s happening in the US.

“And we have to ensure we do what we can in our own country to protect all of our citizens.”

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller also condemned the incident, saying “we could have handled that situation better”.

NSW Police Minister David Elliot said the response of the constable was “not unprovoked”.

“I was just as disturbed about the threat from a young person to physically assault a police officer as I was with the response from the police officer,” he said.