The New South Wales inquiry into the alleged bashing of a young Indigenous man continued today in the Police Integrity Commission.
Corey Barker from Ballina on the state's north coast took the stand to describe his version of events in January 2011.
CCTV footage from inside Ballina Police Station shows a man on the ground -- Corey Barker. Today he told the inquiry the pain he felt then was the worst in his whole time in custody.
The pictures show him being dragged by his arms down to a cell at the back of the station.
"I knew why they were taking me down to the cells, no one is that dumb. I knew why they were handcuffing me," he told the inquiry.
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He said this is what happened after he saw a policeman assaulting a young woman, allegedly picking her by her shoulder and hip and dropping shoulder first onto the ground.
"The scream from Emma was horrible. It needed to be stopped there and friggin then. In my mind I was trying to help someone. I was treated like garbage, where's the fairness in that?," Mr Barker told the inquiry. .
After he was arrested, Mr Barker says he became upset because he couldn't understand why he was being locked up.
The CCTV footage also appeared to show one of the officers asking him for a passcode for his phone while he was in the cell. He told the inquiry the police thought he filmed the alleged assault on his female friend.
During questioning, Mr Barker said it was difficult to remember exactly what happened during the alleged assault because it was so traumatising. But he said he could identify three out of the four officers involved.
Today is only the second day of the inquiry and it's expected to continue for the next two weeks.
Corey Barker's mother and the police involved in the altercation are yet to give evidence.
