Arabic version: الشرطة تدافع عن تصرفات الضابط في فيديو اعتقال كابراماتا

NSW Police have stated that an officer filmed repeatedly punching a man during an arrest was using an ‘approved manoeuvre.’ The incident occurred at Cabramatta train station on Monday night, where the officer was responding to reports of a man threatening commuters with a knife. According to ABC News, a video circulating on social media shows the officer striking the man at least three times in the back of the head while the man was on the ground.

The police report indicates that the man, who was 21 years old, had allegedly been acting aggressively towards female commuters at Canley Vale train station before he assaulted a 46-year-old man who tried to intervene. After boarding a train to Cabramatta station, he allegedly threatened more commuters. When officers located him, he allegedly failed to comply with commands to show his hands, prompting the officer’s use of “an approved manoeuvre to affect the arrest.”

Legal experts have raised concerns regarding the officer’s actions, labeling them as ‘excessive force.’ Grace Cameron Lee, a senior solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, expressed her concerns about the potential dangers of striking someone in the head. Despite the criticism, NSW Police maintained that the video only captured an ‘isolated moment’ of a larger situation.

Following the arrest, the man was searched, but no knife was found. He was later taken to Liverpool Hospital for assessment, where he allegedly assaulted police again. He has since been charged with multiple offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm and hindering or resisting police in execution of their duty.