Tradie who tied up kids was right to call the cops - but his reasons were wrong

OPINION: "What would have been the outcome if the police hadn't been called? All of our kids in danger - even the non-brown ones - that's what."

Did you want to cry and vomit when you saw the photos of the Broome kids being tied up by a tradie this week?

I did, as did most other parents, and many people who were equally shocked and disgusted about such an outrageous incident happening in Australia in 2024.

As we know by now, three children, who were apparently meant to be playing just down the road from their home, had snuck into a neighbour's pool on a hot day. But they weren't wayward teens and tweens - they were six, seven and eight.

It's vital to remember in this incident that they are tiny. 

Which is obviously why the huge, 45-year-old tradie doing work on the property, who discovered them trespassing, needed to use cable ties to restrain them. He was outnumbered, and worried for his own safety, you see.

Fair enough - they were trespassing, some have claimed in response to the story. He was thinking of the crime wave in Broome and potential Indigenous issues. 

But the way I see it, if you're excusing or explaining this man's use of "unreasonable force", as the police described it to the media yesterday, in those terms, you're just as deluded as he is.

The incident might not be believed if we didn't have evidence. Source: Twitter

Knee-jerk at best, racist at worst

One of the sadder parts of this story is hearing how the eight-year-old managed to break free of his ties and run for help.

Imagining how terrified he would have been, the responsibility he felt in probably the gravest situation of his life, and the bravery it took for him, knowing he had to save the others - gives me chills.

It brings tears to my eyes and makes me furious. Kidspot has chosen to blur the faces of the young kids, but they all have tears streaming down their faces. So scared, wondering what their fate would be.

No one has a right to treat kids like that - even if they are the parent/carer. The law's actually pretty clear on this matter. 

When the tradie chose to restrain and abuse these children like that, he was not thinking of their safety - as some online have asserted. He didn't yank them out of the pool, worrying about them swimming unsupervised and potentially drowning. He seated them on hot cement, bound their hands, and called the police.

That man 'saw brown' - and his reaction was knee-jerk at best, and racist at worst. 

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Broome tradie did one thing right

But let's give him the benefit of the doubt... and presume he would have done the same if the kids were not from a culture many are blaming for the crime issues in Broome.

Let's say he did this to non-brown kids - whose people don't have the most tragic history of mistreatment and slavery... it still would not be ok. If he were acting simply on a power-trip, just think... it could have been your kids he'd decided to attack. How would you feel if your little ones made a mistake in public one day and this was the extreme, unimaginable result?

His behavior is criminal and a danger to everyone: there's no justification for it, it was totally disproportionate, violent and cruel.

But he did one thing right.

Thank God this man called the police and was arrested. Thank God the police called ambulances to immediately assess the kids.

Because who knows how this situation could have escalated? Locals arrived and began streaming the incident live on Facebook; they gathered to plead for the kids' release. He didn't care. 

The police arrived - and arrested him. Then and there. That's the Aussiest of reactions to this horror situation. That's the right reaction to the whole bloody sh*tshow that unfolded.

As their mum Rowena said on A Current Affair last night: "My boy was crying for water and I couldn’t even get him a water. 

"I was sad, upset, and very emotional. I was afraid of him [the man] as well; he was very big, a big male."

And a big bully who I'm so relieved is being held accountable - something he brought upon himself.

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Originally published as Tradie who tied up kids was right to call the cops - but his reasons were wrong