The Northern Territory Ombudsman has upheld a number of complaints against police over the pepper spraying of a crowd outside a Darwin nightclub last year.
Ombudsman Peter Shoyer found the use of pepper spray on a large crowd of innocent bystanders was not justified and raised serious concerns about the lack of effective care provided by police to the people who had been sprayed.
"The investigating officer concluded there may have been justification if the spray had been used in isolation on those involved in the altercation," Mr Shoyer stated.
"But its use in the circumstances of a large crowd of innocent bystanders was not justified.
"The complaints were therefore sustained."
Mali Page, 25, was in the crowd as it left Opium Nightclub on Mitchell Street around 4:00am in December last year, when police used the spray to break up an argument outside the venue.
She said the argument was not violent, but those involved and bystanders were then hit with the chemical.
"I walked over to tell my friends that we'd organised a taxi and then I just felt mist coming from behind me," Ms Page said.
"I could see it falling on all the people around me."
Video obtained by the ABC shows a sustained spurt of the spray directed into the crowd.
Ms Page said she and a friend tried to stop their faces stinging by splashing water and milk on their skin.
"It was just chaos, there was just people falling all over the street in pain," she said.
Of major concern to the ombudsman was the response by police after the spraying incident.
Mr Shoyer found the situation was made a lot worse by the lack of effective aftercare provided by police to those suffering from the painful effects of the spray.
"While there were some individual and ad-hoc efforts by police to assist members of the crowd who were suffering, there was little in the way of a proactive or coordinated approach, with a number of police simply moving away," he said.
"This was not in line with police procedures and training."
The officer responsible and his supervisor have been disciplined and three other officers counselled over their lack of aftercare.
The ombudsman said police had apologised for spraying the crowd and failing to care for those affected.
The use of large pepper-spray cannisters is also under review to prevent a similar incident happening again.
NT Police have been contacted for comment.
