ACT cop accused of horrific comments to 17-year-old at watch house
Shocking comments from an ACT watch house officer to a 17-year-old boy have sparked outrage around the country.
The incident allegedly took place after the Indigenous boy was arrested last year.
Footage played during a recent ACT Supreme Court hearing showed the officer asking the boy whether he was thinking of taking his own life, then goading him after he gave an answer.
The officer allegedly asked 'Are you thinking of necking yourself?'. When the boy replied that he was not, the officer allegedly said 'You wouldn't have the guts to do it anyway.'
Several officers standing behind the teenager – none of whom made the offensive comment – can be seen smirking in the vision, according to the Canberra Times which first reported the story.
The Times reports that the same sergeant asked the teen — who was in foster care — if he had parents. He replied 'Nah'.
'No parents? You just magically appeared on the face of the Earth?' the sergeant replied.
In a statement sent to news.com.au, ACT Chief Police Officer Scott Lee said the officer's actions 'are unacceptable and will not be tolerated'.
'I hold everyone in ACT Policing to high standards of professionalism and integrity, as do our officers, and this is in line with community expectations,' he said.
'The comments of the officer during a Watch House intake in 2024 are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
'It falls well below the standards expected of our officers and was dealt with swiftly after the incident occurred with the matter currently being investigated by AFP Professional Standards.'
He said that while the investigation continues, 'appropriate action has been taken to ensure the seriousness of the incident was understood'.
A young Aboriginal leader, Jordan Hindmarsh-Keevil, posted a video on his popular social media channels calling out the incident.
'I hate making videos about negative things, but this is f***ing very important because I bet you didn't hear about it,' he said.
'Although this video might make you angry, I do not mean to divide anyone. All I want from this is for people who believe that Australia is not a racist country — those people say so because it doesn't say it legally anywhere.
'What they do not understand is this treatment is not a one-off. This happens all the time.
'This officer looked at a 17-year-old boy and he said 'are you thinking about necking yourself?' Two of the other coppers who were standing next to this man started smirking and smiling. And this officer had already mocked this kid for not having parents because he was in foster care.
'I am angry at the police that did this but I'm angry that this type of hatred towards other people exists'.
The Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, called the incident 'abhorrent misconduct'.
'In the context of the horrifying and ongoing epidemic of Aboriginal deaths in custody in this jurisdiction and across Australia, this comment can be seen as a deliberate incitement to an Aboriginal child to end his life,' she said in a statement.
'What is even more horrific is the young person is a survivor of forcible removal … the police interrogation used against this young person by police is shameful.'
Professor Hannah McGlade from Curtin University researches issues around Indigenous human rights and issues in custody.
She was horrified when she learned about the officer's comments.
'It was horrific that a young vulnerable Aboriginal boy is being taunted to commit suicide at the watch house,' she told news.com.au.
'And being goaded. Do people not know the leading cause of death for young Aboriginal boys is suicide? Do they think it's a laughing matter?
' This is about inflicting mental trauma. Severe trauma,' she said.'The kind of trauma that can lead to a child that can take their own life.
'How much more cruel could you be? I'm a family foster carer and that weighs heavily. It beggars belief. We simply haven't tackled racism in this country. We're criminalising the most vulnerable children in Australia.
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