Police officers wrongly arrested an Aboriginal teenager at gunpoint on a Canberra bus and "seemingly unlawfully" searched him after realising the mistake, according to a scathing report from the Federal Government's top public service watchdog.
The 17-year-old, referred to as Jay in the Commonwealth Ombudsman report, was stopped on a bus in the Canberra suburb of Woden while police were searching for an armed offender in November last year.
Officers removed him from the bus at gunpoint, handcuffed him and took him to the ground before establishing he was not the person they were looking for.
The incident lasted less than four minutes and involved failures in police communication, command and decision-making.
The Ombudsman found that once police realised their mistake, officers failed to properly respond to Jay as a young Aboriginal person who had just experienced a traumatic encounter with police.
“Jay was an innocent youth who was simply sitting on a bus,” the report states, finding the incident had a significant ongoing impact on his wellbeing and mental health.
Ombudsman Iain Anderson also praised Jay for remaining compliant.
“Great credit is due to Jay for how he responded in what would have been a terrifying and totally confusing situation,” he said.
The strongest criticism was directed at the subsequent search.
Officers searched Jay after his handcuffs had been removed and it had been established he was not the wanted person.
The report found he was not properly told why he was being searched, as required under the Crimes Act.
It concluded the search was “inappropriate as well as seemingly contrary to law”.
Anderson said officers who assisted with or witnessed the search had failed to properly inform themselves of their powers, allowing the seemingly unlawful search to go unchallenged.
The report also raised concerns about racial profiling, finding the AFP did not have a clearly understood definition of the term and recommended ACT Policing review its use of race when describing suspects.
However the Ombudsman did not find any evidence that Jay's Aboriginality led to the increased use of force.
The eight recommendations include mandatory trauma-informed policing training, greater authority and resources for the First Nations Liaison team, improved information sharing with First Nations organisations, and greater transparency around complaints against police.
The Ombudsman also found that, after the incident, police failed to take or confirm Jay's contact details and had inadequate systems for following up with his family.
Jay's family described the incident as “a gross violation of a child's human rights”, saying police continued to search him even after realising they had the wrong boy.
The findings come as ACT Policing continues efforts to rebuild what the report describes as a fragile relationship with First Nations communities.
On Tuesday, ACT Chief Police Officer Scott Lee and Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Dr Marisa Paterson, fronted media to address the report.
Lee told reporters he has "repeatedly expressed my regret for the incident for the distress that this incident has caused," and stressed that ACT Policing was "committed to building and rebuilding trust and community confidence" with the First Nations community.
He also pointed to the Ombudsman's report clearing officers of racial bias in their use of force, noting "there was no evidence to support the view that race led to increased, heightened, or more extreme uses of force," and that the drawing of firearms was "reasonable, proportionate, necessary and consistent with commissioners' orders."
However he conceded that ACT Policing fell short in how it supported the teenager after his release.
"There should have been greater immediate support provided to the young person, including considerations and care relevant to his First Nations status."
Minister Paterson reiterated her own apology.
"I would like to put on the record again my very genuine and sincere apologies to the young person involved in this incident, and to their family, and for the impacts on the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Canberra."
