New footage of an incident in which West Australian Police hit an Indigenous man with an unmarked police car has emerged, appearing to show the police car crossing the road and cutting him off before knocking the man to the ground.
Video that showed an unmarked police car hitting the teenager. The new video below shows the incident up close and from the other side of the police car, giving a clearer picture of how the impact occurred.
In a statement earlier this week, police claimed the incident occurred when the teenager “collided” with the police car. The new video appears to show a different story as the car clearly drives across the road following the teenager before driving into his path, knocking him with such force that he ends up on the footpath.
The teenager can clearly be seen convulsing after being knocked from the centre of the road on to the footpath by the car.
The teenager was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital for treatment of his injuries. It’s believed he suffered seizures after being hit.
Police follow behind on foot as the car veers across to the other side of the road and hits the teenager. Source: NITV News
A policewoman who was slowly following the teenager as he walked continues to slowly walk towards him while the driver of the police car gets out and calmly walks over to the teenager on the ground, grabs him by his jumper and rolls him over as he continues convulsing. He is then handcuffed.
CEO of Ngalla Maya Aboriginal Corporation Mervyn Eades, who was given the footage by the couple who filmed it, told NITV News WA police had a long history of incidents involving Indigenous people.
Gerry Georgatos of the National Indigenous Critical Response Service described the footage as damming.
"The first tranche of footage was alarming, however this footage from nearby the injured, in my view removes any doubt of human error. What the footage evidences is damning and the officers in question should be stood down,” he told NITV News.
"The individual was purposely knocked over by the police vehicle.”
The first video below
West Australian police claimed the teenager was being sought after for questioning after people in the area complained about “suspicious activity”.
After locating the teenager, police allege “a scuffle ensued where one officer was injured”.
“The man fled on foot and was arrested a short time later on Wilfred Road after colliding with a police vehicle involved in the search,” WA police said in a statement.
However, an eyewitness claims the police “deliberately” hit the Aboriginal teen, while another eyewitness told the media they believe the police didn’t use excessive force.
The West Australian Police Minister Michelle Roberts told the media this week a full report on the incident would be made.
"On the face of it, it's very disturbing and appears to be quite unacceptable," she said.
"So the officers involved will be interviewed by professional standards and a full report done."
Further comment on the new footage has been sought from WA Police.
