Police probe over arrest of Aboriginal teen in Sydney

A police officer has been suspended after footage emerged of an indigenous teen being arrested.

An Aboriginal teen is held on the ground by police in Sydney's Surry Hills. Picture: Facebook

A police officer is facing investigation after footage emerged of him knocking a 17-year-old indigenous boy to the ground while arresting him in a Sydney park.

The arrest happened about 5.30pm on Monday after the teenager allegedly threatened the police officer. “I’ll crack you across the jaw, boy,” the boy can be heard saying in the video, which was posted online by a relative.

The officer then began to arrest the boy, swiping his feet out from under him while holding his hands behind his back, causing the teenager to fall face-first onto a brick path.

A person off-camera can be heard shouting “you just slammed him on the face”, while another says “he is in pain, bro, I’ve never heard that”.

The boy was taken to a police station before being transferred to St Vincent’s Hospital to receive treatment for cuts to his knee, face and elbow.

A statement released by NSW Police said an investigation into the arrest was being carried out by the Professional Standards Command.

“The constable involved has been placed on restricted duties while this review is carried out,” the statement read.

“Senior officers have met with the community and local elders and will keep them appraised throughout the process.”

Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing later said he had been told the officer was attending an unrelated job near a park in Surry Hills when he came across the boy and four of his friends.

“You can listen to the footage yourself and see the footage yourself. There were obviously words exchanged which caused the constable to react and whether or not that reaction is appropriate is subject to the investigation,” Mr Willing said.

“I’m not going to pre-empt the outcomes of the investigation.”

A young Aboriginal lad gets slammed face down to the ground today by NSW Police for telling an officer “I’ll crack you across the jaw bro”. Surry Hills -

Posted by SCN Sydney Crime News on Monday, 1 June 2020

Sade Fajemisin, 21, holding up a sign during a protest in Martin Place in Sydney to bring awareness to police brutality. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Mr Willing said he was ­concerned the footage would be used to inflame racial tensions, with the announcement coming just hours before a Black Lives Matter protest began in Sydney’s Hyde Park.

“As the region commander, is this concerning for me? Absolutely,” Mr Willing said.

“We’ve got great relationships with the community here, but I’m equally concerned about the people who want to use this footage to turn it into something it’s not.

“We’re all well aware of what’s happening overseas, but this is not the United States of America. We have very, very good relations with our local community and I’m concerned that people will pre-empt the outcomes of this investigation and draw conclusions prior to the outcome.”

Hundreds of people marched through Sydney’s CBD from 5pm on Tuesday, protesting against police treatment of indigenous Australians and supporting ­demonstrations sweeping across the US.

Demonstrators marched from Hyde Park to Martin Place, ­stopping outside state parliament for a minute’s silence in memory of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis last week as a result of a police officer kneeling on his neck.

There was a large police presence — including mounted officers and highway patrol — amid fears the demonstration could turn violent but the majority of the crowd dispersed without incident shortly before 7pm.