New South Wales police have launched an investigation after a young Aboriginal man with disability was violently arrested while having a seizure and thrown to the ground while handcuffed in Taree.
Footage of the arrest shows the young man being walked along a driveway by an officer before stumbling and falling to the ground, where he begins having a seizure.
A second sequence shows the teenager being walked along the street while handcuffed before the same officer performs a leg sweep manoeuvre on him, throwing him violently to the ground.
“An internal investigation is under way after an 18-year-old man was arrested at Taree on Tuesday 15 August 2023 for alleged property offences,” a NSW police spokesperson said.
Magistrate Rami Attia found Constable Ryan Barlow guilty of occasioning actual bodily harm, dismissing claims the officer had felt threatened.
The case garnered national attention when mobile phone footage of the violent arrest – taken by the boy’s friends – was posted online.