The New South Wales police watchdog will oversee an investigation into the violent arrest in Taree last week of a handcuffed Aboriginal teenager with a disability.
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), an independent watchdog that has oversight of NSW police, has confirmed it is involved in the force’s internal inquiry and that police have received a serious misconduct complaint about the incident.
An officer who performed a leg sweep on the 18-year-old after the teenager had a seizure has been placed on restricted duties while his conduct is investigated.
The teenager, who was arrested last Tuesday, was charged with being in possession of suspected stolen goods and taken to Kempsey jail on remand.
He was due to appear in the Moree local court on Monday over seven charges, including hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty, carrying out a sexual act with another without consent, carrying a cutting weapon upon apprehension, and stalking.
The young man did not apply for bail and was refused bail. His case was adjourned until Tuesday.
He was arrested after police were called in response to reports a man was attempting to break into properties. A video of his arrest was circulated on Facebook and Snapchat.
The footage, first reported by Guardian Australia, shows the young man being walked along a driveway by an officer before stumbling and falling to the ground, where he begins having a seizure.
The officer is seen pulling him up and pushing him along the path before the young man collapses again and is handcuffed.
A second sequence shows the teenager being walked along the street while handcuffed before the same officer performs a leg sweep on him, throwing him violently to the ground.
His family and members of the community have expressed their distress over the footage and called on the police to release more details about what happened.
The teenager’s aunt, whom Guardian Australia has chosen not to name, said on Monday that the family was “disgusted and traumatised” after having seen the incident on TV.
“I am really distraught and the family are pretty upset that there was sorrow in their hearts,” she said.
The teenager has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and has been on the disability pension since he was 16, his aunt has told Guardian Australia.
A spokesperson for the LECC said it was assessing the complaint made against NSW police and that police had notified the commission of their internal investigation into the arrest.
“The NSW Police Force must tell us about all of the serious complaints that they receive directly,” the spokesperson said.
“Under NSW law, the NSW Police Force are primarily responsible for handling misconduct complaints about their staff with LECC oversight.”
A previous report by the LECC had criticised the way NSW police recorded use of force incidents. It was particularly scathing of the way police collected information regarding the use of handcuffs, noting there was no category for their use in the force’s internal log system.
