ACT's top cop has said police "should have done better" in caring for an Aboriginal boy's wellbeing after he was misidentified and arrested at gunpoint on a Canberra bus.
Chief Police Officer Scott Lee has made a public apology and commitment to improved policing after the ACT and Commonwealth Ombudsman investigation into the traumatic arrest found officers failed their "duty of care", conducted an unlawful search, and acted with potential bias towards the 17-year-old boy.
"We should have obtained his details, spoken to him about getting him back to family, there were a range of things in the aftercare ... But absolutely, our expectations were not met, and we should have done better in terms of support to that young person," Deputy Commissioner Lee told journalists on Tuesday, August 25.
Police Minister Marisa Paterson extended her "very genuine and sincere" apologies to the 17-year-old boy and said she would work with police to implement the ombudsman's recommendations.
"I also would like to acknowledge the family statement as part of that report and their calls for ACT Policing, and I take them on board as a government, as well in terms of listening to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, to working to continuously improve the way we do things and taking accountability," the minister said.
Deputy Commissioner Lee said police accepted all the report recommendations and would work to implement them with guidance from his First Nations advisory board.
He also stressed the ombudsman's report did not find evidence of excessive force or racial profiling during the arrest on November 11, 2025, in Woden.
Similarly, a statement issued by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealed internal investigations into the conduct of five of the six officers involved in the arrest were complete and its professional standards unit (PRS) had not found evidence of discrimination or excessive force.
However, PRS found a serious breach of the AFP's code of conduct when police searched the young person after unarresting him.
The AFP did not say whether the six police officers - who continued to work while under investigation - would face any action.
The ombudsman's report concluded that "unconscious bias from their previous interaction" with the teenager two weeks earlier, influenced the unlawful search and officers' groundless belief that he was carrying a knife on November 11.
During the previous interaction, on October 31 last year, the report said police stopped and searched the boy and his friends while looking for someone seen carrying a large knife and running away from officers.
The ombudsman's investigation revealed the boy, who was wearing a Halloween costume and carrying a plastic knife, disclosed he also had a pocket knife when asked by police officers, one of whom was involved in the November 11 arrest.
The report also found different officers incorrectly assumed the boy was "homeless and couchsurfing" despite obtaining his address and next of kin details from their interaction on Halloween.
The ombudsman's office had concerns over the actions of "several officers" and subsequently referred the Halloween incident to PRS for investigation.
"We consider this is another example of concerns we highlighted in our Office's report on ACT Policing's use of force where an officer's previous interactions with a young person bring a bias to future interactions," the ombudsman's report said.
This masthead asked the chief police officer whether other ACT Policing members may also be working with potential unconscious bias.
Deputy Commissioner Lee said he noted the ombudsman's comments, and said unconscious bias was part of training for recruits and that more than 850 police members had undergone mandatory cultural literacy training.
He also said ACT Policing had reprioritised resources to allow its team of First Nations liaison officers to be available to the community and all police officers 24/7 for advice on culturally safe responses.
The family of the Wiradjuri boy has thanked the ombudsman and his team for their comprehensive report, and listening to concerns about their nephew.
In a statement provided to The Canberra Times, the family said their nephew was subjected to damaging and demeaning treatment on the basis of a vague physical description, being "an Aboriginal male" in a dark hoodie with a backpack.
In the family's view, the ombudsman properly described the use of "Aboriginal" as a physical descriptor as being unhelpful, outdated and stereotypical.
"Our nephew was compliant and polite during the entire incident and was not given the same treatment in return," the statement on Tuesday, August 25, said.
The family was deeply concerned by police failures raised in the report and welcomed investigations into other serious issues exposed during the ombudsman's review.
"[Police's failures] include a complete failure to provide any care to our nephew after subjecting him to a traumatic incident despite knowing he was a child, making public statements after the incident which inappropriately attempted to downplay and diminish the incident and an apparent failure of the AFP internally to understand what racial profiling is," the statement said.
Principal solicitor at Ken Cush & Associates Sam Tierney, acting for the teenager and his family, told this masthead the young person intended to sue the Commonwealth and the Australian Capital Territory in relation to the incident, and that both governments had been notified about the civil claim.
Acting Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Barb Causon said she had questions about police training related to interacting with young and First Nations people, and condemned the unlawful use of privileged information and previous police interactions.
Community advocate Joe Hedger said the ombudsman's findings into the teenager's appalling treatment were "damning", and rejected that there was insufficient evidence that race contributed to the level of force used.
"Aboriginal people know what racial profiling looks and feels like. It is about assumptions, who looks suspicious, who is perceived as dangerous and who is immediately treated as a threat," Mr Hedger said.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson, who had supported the family's concerns about racial profiling following the bus incident, said police had "a long way to go" and the ombudsman's findings should mark a turning point for their engagement with First Nations Canberrans.
