A group of police officers will be investigated after being caught on camera pinning down, beating and dousing a Melbourne disability pensioner with capsicum spray and a garden hose.
Victoria’s anti-corruption commission will now investigate the incident outside the pensioner’s Preston home in September which was caught on CCTV.
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said he was “very concerned” by the security footage obtained by The Age and shared with the ABC.
“The members involved clearly needed to be called to account for their conduct,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
But Mr Cornelius added it was not police practice to stand down officers when a complaint was made. Any such decision would follow the outcome of any Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission’s investigation.
Robinson Gill Lawyers accuse six officers of mistreating their client, named only as John, after arriving at his Preston home to conduct a welfare check.
John’s CCTV system showed him trying to fend off the officers before being capsicum sprayed and dragged onto his lawn, where he was sprayed again.
“F***ing idiot, do you like that? Do you like that? Smells good, doesn’t it?” an officer is heard saying.
The footage also showed an officer hitting John’s leg with a baton.
During the ordeal, John is wailing “Oh my back, my back”.
While being sprayed with a garden hose, John added: “You happy? … how tough are youse (sic)?”
A paralympian shares the best way to speak to our kids about disability. (Post continues below.)
Lawyer Jeremy King said the footage was “very confronting and very distressing”.
Top Comments
Absolutely sickening. There are 5 men on top of one disabled man. Then there is one policeman taking video of the whole thing and laughing. There is absolutely no excuse or logical reason for this behaviour at all. They were just monstrous. This is why people have such low opinions of police now.
It was like a feeding frenzy, utterly disgraceful behaviour from the Police in this instance. In the footage shown on TV last night I saw an ambulance across the road from John's place whilst this was being filmed., surely they would have seen what was going on and should have stepped in. Poor John was already suffering with back injuries and other symptoms and he made that known to the Police before they barged at him and attacked him so savagely. What John needed at that time was a quieter gentler voice and someone who could show compassion,given his fragile mental and physical state, which in my opinion is where the paramedics should have interceded; I can't for the life of me understand why they didn't do so to stop this blatant abuse of a sick vulnerable man. John you have thousands of people of your side who wish you nothing but to get well, and with your Legal Team, fight this tooth and nail to get you the justice you so deserve. Get well John and take strength in knowing that you will be the instigator of change as to how a lot of others are treated by the Police., no one should ever have to experience what you have gone through, we are a so called Civilised Country and we should all demand and expect better from our Police Force.