Queensland’s Indian community has been left “very distressed” and will now be less likely to report offences to police, after it was revealed in court proceedings that an officer was caught on body-worn camera making “racist” remarks, Australia’s race discrimination commissioner says.
The officer said, “fucking Indians, mate, they are a bunch of fucking perverts” to his colleague on Australia Day in 2023, according to a lawsuit filed in the federal court.
The two senior constables then charged an Indian Uber driver with committing an indecent act for allegedly masturbating in public, according to the court documents. The charges were dismissed in court more than a year later, after two witnesses failed to appear.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThe Uber driver is now suing the Queensland police claiming he was discriminated against, according to a statement of claim filed in the federal court.
In its defence filed in the court, Queensland police claims the recording was made accidentally, but denied that any of the acts by the two officers and the police prosecutor were by reason of “race”, “colour” or “national ethnic origin”.
The race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, said the officer’s remarks, which were recorded on a body-worn camera, were “clearly a racist statement”.
“I think the Indian community would be very distressed,” Sivaraman said.
“We know that migrant communities are sometimes reluctant to engage with the police because they feel that they won’t be heard, that they won’t be believed, that they’re not represented,” he said.
“This kind of incident will just perpetuate that harm, because communities will see this, and in their minds it will confirm what they already believe. And it just means that the work for police to be trusted, that just gets harder.”
Sivaraman said the country’s police needed to do more to stamp out racism, pointing to recommendations in the Human Rights Commissions’ national anti-racism framework that would require developing racial literacy within law enforcement nationwide. This has not yet been implemented by any police department in Australia, he said.
Sivaraman said the officers involved should be disciplined.
“It’s not for me to say exactly what action should be taken against [them], but some action needs to be taken to show that this is serious and not to be tolerated,” he said.
The incident also demonstrates the need for “independent oversight” of the police, he said.
Police are still investigating police, nearly two years after a deadline for an end to the practice recommended by the landmark women’s safety and justice taskforce.
The Queensland attorney general, Deb Frecklington, did not answer questions about when the government would establish a promised police integrity unit on Monday.
“We are calmly and methodically working through the process of the police integrity unit,” she said.
A Queensland police spokesperson said it had “received a complaint that a senior constable made unprofessional comments while on duty, which were perceived to have negative racial connotations”.
“The matter was assessed and appropriate inquiries were undertaken,” the spokesperson said.
“As a result, the officer was subject to professional development strategies aimed at addressing the identified conduct and reinforcing the expected standards of professionalism and respectful engagement with the community.
“The Queensland Police Service does not publicly comment on specific disciplinary outcomes for individual members and remains committed to respectful and impartial policing to maintain the confidence of all communities we serve.”
