Handcuffed Teen Injured in WA Police Arrest Video Sparks Review
Quick Look
- A video showing a handcuffed 17-year-old being pulled to the ground by a Western Australian police officer has prompted a police review.
- The incident, which occurred outside a Perth hotel, resulted in a minor head laceration for the teen, who was later released with an infringement for disorderly behaviour.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
A video recorded by a member of the public shows a Western Australian police officer pulling a handcuffed 17-year-old boy to the ground, causing a minor head injury. WA Police have confirmed they are reviewing the incident, including body-worn camera footage and the use of force.
A handcuffed teenager injured after being pulled to the ground by a Western Australian police officer, in a video captured by a member of the public, has sparked a police review.
Police have confirmed they are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the 17-year-old boy's arrest outside a hotel in the CBD early on Thursday.
In a video taken from a residential balcony across the street from the Metro Hotel on Hay Street, three police officers can be seen speaking with two males outside the hotel's entrance.
The teenager is standing with his hands behind his back while a male police officer appears to be searching his hoodie and pockets.
A second police officer has her hand on the boy's shoulder while a third police officer and a second male watch on.
The first police officer then grabs the boy and slams him to the ground. He falls to the pavement with his hands cuffed behind his back.
The search continues while the boy is face down on the ground before he is hoisted up by the police officer and sat on the footpath.
Kayla Gray filmed the arrest.
"[Police] put one of them in handcuffs and next minute they took him to the ground," she said.
"He was just standing there with his handcuffs on … it was excessive force for no reason."
A spokesperson for WA Police said officers went to the hotel at 12:40am on Thursday to investigate reports of two people causing a disturbance outside.
"One of the males aged 17 was taken into custody and after a short exchange was brought to the ground due to verbal threats of being armed with a knife," the spokesperson said.
"The male sustained a minor laceration to the head while being brought to the ground and was subsequently provided medical treatment."
Police said the teenager was later released from custody and issued with an infringement for disorderly behaviour.
"The circumstances surrounding the incident, including a review of officer body-worn camera vision and the use of any force during the arrest, will be reviewed," the spokesperson said.
Prominent Perth lawyer John Hammond, who watched the video, said it was not possible to know the full circumstances of the incident based on the footage alone.
“If the police are right in that threat about the knife, then they had the power under law to use force and do what they did,” he said.
“So everything pretty much hangs on whether that young man made a threat about being armed.”
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
WA Police will conduct a formal review of the incident, including body-worn camera footage and the use of force.
Very likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What were the exact verbal threats made by the teenager?
- Was the threat of being armed with a knife credible?
- What will be the outcome of the police review?
