WARNING: Distressing content.
A young Noongar/Yamatji girl has alleged she was violently restrained and arrested by an off-duty police officer after an altercation on a Perth train.
The altercation occurred on Sunday, April 20, with footage circulating online.
It's alleged that a group of boys had tried to rob the 13-year-old and her friends. The police officer intervened, pushing the teenager in the chest before she struck him in the face.
In the footage, the officer, in plain clothes, straddles the girl on the train floor as she screams for him to get off.
He pulls her from the floor and onto a row of seats. Her head hits the window frame, she holds it and winces in pain as her friends attempt to stop the officer, telling him she has hit her head.
The officer proceeds to push her down with his leg before telling her to sit up and notifying her she's "under arrest". He continues to hold her down as she yells "I'm not resisting".
The vision is "really, really concerning" to WA Commissioner for Children and Young People, Jacqueline McGowan-Jones.
"This was excessive and unreasonable force," she told NITV.
The Warumungu and Arrernte woman said that this may have been the teenager's first interaction with police, and it is "unfortunate" it will leave a "really bad impression".
"You can hear her in the video, quite distressed, getting angry, which is fear - it's a fight of flight type of response psychologically," she explained.
"I would hate to think that she now is potentially not going to trust police to be able to support her."
She said while people may have good experiences with police, incidents like this can "damage the relationships" between Aboriginal children and police who are "there for community safety".
In a statement to NITV, WA Police Minister Reece Whitby said all officers are expected to "always act with professionalism and appropriate judgement".
“This matter is under review as is standard practice, including internal processes and CCTV," he said.
"It’s important those inquiries run their course."
Commissioner McGowan-Jones said she has raised the issue with WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch who confirmed the investigation.
She's called for independent oversight of the investigation to stop "police reviewing police actions" and has nominated both herself and the Aboriginal Legal Services of WA in a bid for process "transparency".
"We need to make sure these sorts of things don't happen to our children as a generic response to issues."
The Commissioner remains adamant that the rights of children, regardless of what institution they interact with, are prioritised, upheld and protected.
"As a society, we need to understand that these are children, many of who have had other traumatic experiences, many of whom are neurodivergent, many of whom might have a disability of some sort or another," she said.
"We can't just keep judging children. We as a community, need to value and care for our kids. Our children are the most precious resource we have."
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