From: hschurma@amnesty.org
Attached below is an ASCII version of the full Amnesty report text, but
without cover sheet, summary, headers and footers. It has been edited only
to the extent that footnotes are now attached at the end of the text, and
made recognizable within the text by numbers with closing square brackets.
I expect the text to be also made available soon on Amnesty International
Australia's Internet sites, "http://www.vicnet.net.au/~aiavic" or
"http://www.amnesty.org.au"
Hardcopies are available from
Amnesty International Australia
PO Box 1611
Sydney 2007
Ph 02 9281 4188
Fax 02 9211 3608
Kind regards,
Heinz
AUSTRALIA
Police Brutality Against Queensland Aborigines
[This plain text version has all footnote numbers in the text replaced by
ordinary numbers followed by a closing square bracket, e.g. "1]".]
In the early hours of 22 March 1997 an altercation between two Aborigines
was being broken up by other Aborigines when police and private security
guards arrived at the scene, followed by United States military police
officers. They arrested seven Aborigines, some of whom were kicked and
punched by police officers. The event, which took place in Ipswich,
Queensland, was recorded by a security video camera. The video recording,
which has been viewed by Amnesty International, supports claims by eye-
witnesses and victims that police used excessive force during at least
three of the arrests.
Ipswich police officers involved in the arrests appeared to be indifferent
to the fact that they were watched by a crowd of between twenty and thirty
bystanders and that the incident was being recorded. Eye-witnesses alleged
that police and security officers dismissed requests by bystanders to call
an ambulance for an unconscious 23-year-old man who had convulsions. A
police officer had flung him violently to the ground, handcuffed him and
left him lying on the footpath.
Amnesty International is concerned that the force used by police in at
least three of the arrests was excessive, constituting ill-treatment, and
that the video recording appears to support allegations of lack of proper
care of an injured detainee. The organization is further concerned that
this was not an isolated event, as it has received reports of numerous
similar incidents from other parts of Australia during recent years, often
involving Aborigines. These concerns are heightened by the response to the
incident of the Queensland Police Commissioner who was quoted as saying
that "these people were [...] arrested strictly in accordance" with police
training.
Amnesty International urges the Queensland authorities to ensure that the
inquiry into the event which the Criminal Justice Commission has announced
is prompt, thorough, impartial and fully independent, and that anyone
found responsible for misconduct, excessive use of force, or any other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment be brought to justice. Good faith
efforts being made by many police officers and Aborigines to improve their
strained relationship should not be undermined by any deficiencies in the
investigation or the government's failure to act on the inquiry's
recommendations.
The incident
At 2:26am on Saturday, 22 March 1997, an altercation between two young
Aborigines was captured on video by a time-coded security camera
overlooking a busy road intersection at a shopping mall in the middle of
the southern Queensland town of Ipswich, near Brisbane. By 2:28am the
participants had been separated by other Aborigines, and several people
were beginning to leave the scene when security guards, reportedly
employed by the city council, and a police officer arrived. They were
quickly joined by several more police officers, and by two uniformed
military police officers of the United States First Marine Airwing who
were in Queensland during joint exercises with Australian defence forces.
According to the US Embassy in Canberra, US military police had been on
patrol that night at the request of the Ipswich police. Media reports
state that local police and city council representatives had previously
held a meeting with US military police officers about the potential for
conflict between Aborigines and US military personnel. Queensland police
later claimed that numerous incidents had occurred during the past few
weeks involving Aborigines and United States servicemen. Referring to
these incidents, the Queensland Police Commissioner defended his officers'
conduct and said that "[t]hey were set upon."[1] The video recording does
not appear to support this assessment.
From about 2:28am the video shows what appears to be a heated discussion
between Aborigines, security guards and police. One police officer is
shown on the video elbowing a woman in the face and pushing a young man.
Within a minute of his arrival this police officer rushed to Lewin Smith,
a 23-year-old young man who was talking to bystanders and a security
guard, grabbed and held him around his neck, and violently shook him off
balance. Lewin Smith was later quoted by a newspaper as saying:
"All I know was they grabbed me round the neck and threw me
into the ground and I blanked out. I do remember that [the police
officer] still had his hands around my neck when I went down."[2]
Lack of care
According to eye-witnesses, Lewin Smith was handcuffed face down on the
footpath where he remained motionless for several minutes. Bystanders
noted that he did not respond to questions and then had convulsions.
Witnesses told Amnesty International that a woman unsuccessfully tried to
rouse him and that he had fluid running from his mouth. When bystanders
urged police and security officers to call an ambulance they were
allegedly told to "shut up". An ambulance finally arrived at 2:45am, 15
minutes after Lewin Smith was flung to the ground.
In the meantime, no attempt by police officers or security guards to assess
his condition can be seen on the video. The video appears to show one
officer briefly speaking with a woman who sat on the footpath attending to
Lewin Smith until the arrival of the ambulance. While in hospital Lewin
Smith was charged with using insulting language by police officers.
According to the Aboriginal Legal Service, he has since been examined for
health problems resulting from his treatment during arrest and has lodged a
formal complaint with the Queensland Criminal Justice Commission (CJC)[3].
Further arrests and use of excessive force
According to the police, a further six Aborigines, including a woman, were
arrested and charged with a variety of street offences as a result of the
incident. The charges they face include using insulting or obscene
language, disorderly behaviour, obstructing police, resisting arrest and
assaulting a police officer. One person was taken into custody on suspicion
of public drunkenness, which in Queensland is a criminal offence.
A woman who in the video appeared to be expressing concern about Lewin
Smith's treatment was grabbed by officers who tried to drag her away from
where he was lying on the footpath. She struggled and managed to get free.
As she moved away, two police officers grabbed her from behind and a third
officer violently wrestled her to the ground. It appears from the video
that he was the same officer who had flung Lewin Smith to the ground.
According to eye-witnesses, at least one of the officers knelt or sat on
the woman for several minutes. The Ipswich Aboriginal Legal Service told
Amnesty International that she suffered numerous bruises on various parts
of her body as a result of her treatment.
Another police officer arrived and moved past a man who stood arguing with
US military police. The video shows the man briefly talking to the police
officer who then walked over to where Lewin Smith was lying on the ground.
The man kept addressing the police officer who suddenly rushed at him,
grabbed his arms, kicked him and pushed him violently backwards against a
shop window. Several other police and military officers moved towards them
and helped to hold the man against the window. According to eye-witnesses
the man was kicked and beaten.
A bystander who tried to intervene and push a police officer away was
grabbed and then held by several officers. The video footage appears to
show him being punched in the face with two hands by a police officer
before being wrestled to the ground and restrained. While he was held on
the ground by a military police officer and at least one police officer,
another policeman kicked him at least once. Another man who had also tried
to intervene was grabbed around the head from behind by an officer, pulled
backwards and flung to the ground. He was also arrested.
A few minutes later the first persons arrested were locked into a police
van. At 2:36am the video camera filmed a young man talking with a police
officer at the rear of the police van. The man, Sascha Blake, later said
he went to the van with the intention of asking an arrested relative for a
telephone number in order to alert his father. The video recording shows
how the police officer talked to him and pushed him away. As he walked
away Sascha Blake apparently made a comment, upon which the police officer
ran towards him and grabbed him from behind. Four other police officers
and two US military police came to assist the officer, wrestling Sascha
Blake to the ground and kneeling on him to restrain him. The video
recording clearly shows one police officer punching him, apparently in the
head, while he was held on the ground by four other officers.
Police response to public debate on the video
Following media publication of excerpts and photographs taken from the
video, the Queensland Police Commissioner issued a media release explaining
that it would be inappropriate for him to make further comments in relation
to the incident because numerous charges arising from it had come before the
courts, and because the Criminal Justice Commission was expected to conduct
an investigation. He did, however, state that in Ipswich, certain parts of
Brisbane and Fortitude Valley[4] police were well aware that their actions
and the execution of their duties are captured on video tape. The Commis-
sioner also stressed the importance for all Queenslanders to understand:
"that the law in this State is administered with equality, but that
no group of people will be allowed to intimidate, harass or
provoke other elements of the community and cause serious
disruption by breaking the law."[5]
Background
Amnesty International has received a number of reports and testimonies
which suggest that ill-treatment of suspects by Australian police officers
is not uncommon. More often than not, the alleged victims were juveniles,
young Aboriginal men, or members of other minority groups. While these
reports do not support allegations of a widespread use of excessive force
among Australian police services, Amnesty International research indicates
that there are individual police officers from particular police stations
who are more likely than others to use excessive force during arrests. On
the video of the Ipswich incident three individual police officers, out of
at least seven who were present, can be identified as using excessive
force during the arrests.
Recent studies support the view that typical charges laid against
Aborigines include 'using offensive language,' 'resisting arrest' and
'assaulting a police officer'.[6] Actions resulting in these charges often
occur in situations initiated by police which are interpreted as harassment
or provocation. Reports received by Amnesty International suggest that the
victims of alleged police assaults were often charged with a combination of
these charges. Although in many cases some of these charges were later
dismissed for lack of evidence, the victim may be under pressure not to
lodge or further pursue a formal complaint or appear as a witness against
a police officer in a court or tribunal.
Patterns of assault complaints against police officers
In March 1997 an investigation of formal complaints of assault lodged
against Queensland police officers, based on cases where there was some
independent evidence, or acknowledgement by police that an incident had
occurred, found that eleven per cent of all complainants involved were
Aborigines, although they account for only 2.4 per cent of the Queensland
population. According to the investigation report, this figure reflects
the over-representation of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander people in
the criminal justice system generally.[7] In almost half of all incidents
investigated, police officers were alleged to have punched or kicked the
complainant. Due to the difficulty of proving allegations to the required
legal standard, few of these complaints led to recommendations for
criminal charges or disciplinary action, and even fewer of these led to
prosecution or disciplinary tribunals.
The study appears to lend some support to the allegation that police use
of excessive force often occurs in the context of alleged street offences,
especially late on weekend evenings. A quarter of the incidents reviewed
resulted in arrests for minor offences, such as 'using offensive language',
'drunkenness' or 'disorderly conduct.'
In more than half of the cases there was no evidence that police were
provoked, or that provocation extended beyond the use of disrespectful
language. However, there was evidence in about a fifth of cases
investigated that police had been physically provoked by the complainant,
for example by punching or kicking.
In order to reduce the number of assault complaints against the police,
the study recommended improved training and supervision practices for
police officers, procedures for identifying officers who are the subject
of significant numbers of complaints, and the implementation of a
comprehensive policy on the use of force.[8] The study refers to a recent
Queensland Police Service investigation into the use of force which
suggests that officers with more than five years service have not been
trained under new police guidelines pertaining to the use of force.[9]
The Ipswich incident in context
Amnesty International considers that the Ipswich incident indicates a
continuing disregard by some police officers of directives of police
commissioners and recommendations by judicial inquiries, which are aimed
at preventing unnecessary arrest and the escalation of police intervention
in cases where the alleged original offence is of a petty nature. Among
the factors contributing to the problem is the apparent reluctance among
many Queensland police officers to use their discretion under operational
guidelines to avoid arrests for minor offences, and the lack of clear
guidance about the appropriate use of force in the Queensland Police
Service Operational Procedures Manual.[10]
While relations between many Aboriginal communities and the Queensland
Police Service are considered to be improving, there have been a number of
setbacks in recent years. On 7 November 1993, Daniel Yock, a 16-year-old
Aboriginal dancer, was found dead in the back of a police van in central
Brisbane. He had been arrested for disorderly conduct and left in the van
for up to 30 minutes with his hands handcuffed behind his back, lying face
down on the floor. The controversial circumstances of his arrest and
subsequent death led to serious clashes between Aboriginal people and
local police.
In May 1994, six police officers left their patrolling district without
authorization to take three Aboriginal boys, aged 12 to 14, from
Fortitude Valley, central Brisbane, to an isolated industrial wasteland
some 14 kilometres outside the city to "reflect on their misdemeanours".
They had apprehended the boys in a shopping mall at night but did not
charge them or take them to a police station or to their parents. The boys
told a Criminal Justice Commission inquiry that, after arriving at a
desolate riverbank at about 3am, the police officers made threatening
comments suggesting torture and drowning and then abandoned them to find
their way home in the dark. In court, in February 1996, the six police
officers faced charges of "unlawful deprivation of personal liberty".
However, a magistrate declined to commit the police officers for trial,
ruling that there was insufficient evidence that the children had been
transported by police against their will. All six officers reportedly
returned to normal duties with disciplinary sanctions suspended, pending
periods of 'good behaviour.'
Amnesty International recommendations
On 10 April 1997, the Queensland Criminal Justice Commission announced
that it would hold an inquiry into the Ipswich incident. The inquiry's
main objective is to establish whether any criminal or disciplinary
charges should be laid against anyone involved and whether police
procedures should be reviewed. The United States authorities have also
announced a separate inquiry into the conduct of their military police
officers during the incident.[11]
Amnesty International urges the Queensland authorities to ensure that the
Criminal Justice Commission is able to begin immediately its
investigations into the entire incident on the basis of the broadest
possible terms of reference.
* The inquiry should be thorough, impartial and fully independent,
and sufficient resources should be made available to ensure that
it can fulfil all its functions promptly and adequately.
* All eye-witnesses should be encouraged to come forward, and any
complaints about intimidation of alleged victims or witnesses
should be taken seriously and be made part of the investigation.
* Consideration should be given to witnesses who might fear
reprisals if called upon to speak in a public hearing.
* The inquiry's findings should be published promptly - unless any
criminal proceedings would be affected.
* All police officers involved should be subject to a separate
disciplinary investigation.
* Those found responsible for any misconduct, arbitrary violence or
other cruel or inhuman treatment should be brought to justice.
* The Queensland Government should consider initiating a separate
inquiry into allegations of similar incidents in other parts of
Queensland.
* The Queensland Police Service should consider the findings and
recommendations of the Criminal Justice Commission report on
assault complaints against Queensland police and should make
them available to all police officers likely to be involved in
situations which could lead to such complaints.
In Amnesty International's opinion it is particularly important that
these inquiries be seen to be thorough, impartial, and independent.
Genuine and effective efforts being made by many police officers and
Aborigines to improve their strained relationship should not be
undermined by any deficiencies in the investigations.
1 "Anatomy of a brawl," Courier Mail, 8 April 1997.
2 Courier Mail, 8 April 1997.
3 The CJC was established under the Criminal Justice Act 1989 and
has broad statutory responsibility to monitor the operation of the
criminal justice system, including alleged misconduct by members of
the police or corrective services.
4 The place names refer to incidents described below in "The Ipswich
incident in context".
5 "Commissioner's Response to 'Ipswich Incident'," Media Release,
Queensland Police Service, 7 April 1997.
6 Chris Cunneen and David McDonald, Keeping Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander People Out of Custody, Canberra, ATSIC 1997, p. 114-116;
Indigenous Deaths in Custody, 1989-1996, a report prepared by the Office
of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Canberra,
ATSIC, October 1997, p. 36.
7 Most figures quoted here refer only to incidents involving police
officers who were on duty at the time. Cf. Criminal Justice
Commission (CJC), Reducing Police-Civilian Conflict: An Analysis of
Assault Complaints Against Queensland Police, Brisbane, March 1997, 28.
8 Ibid., p. 53, 57-64.
9 Queensland Police Service, Project Lighthouse: Final Report by The
Commissioner's Inspectorate on matters pertaining to the use of force,
Brisbane, Commissioner's Inspectorate, 1996, p.106. Cf. CJC, op. cit.,
p. 64.
10 Operational Procedures Manual, s. 3.5.9 and 5.6.17. Cf. CJC, op.
cit., p.59, 71.
11 After the screening of excerpts from the video recording on
Australian television, calls were made to the Australian Government to
request that the US military police officers allegedly involved in
ill-treatment during the Ipswich incident be arrested and handed over
to Australian jurisdiction. According to article 8.(3)(b) of the Status
of Forces Agreement, signed in 1963 between Australia and the United
States and reportedly reaffirmed before the March 1997 exercises, the
Australian Government exercises jurisdiction over any criminal
offences found to have been perpetrated by US military personnel
during military exercises on Australian territory.
(ends)