Police in Australia have been forced to defend stopping, searching and questioning a man because of his tattoos.
Officers spotted Clayton Foelmli and his girlfriend Hayley Van Hostauyen driving in the Gold Coast on Monday and pulled them over.
A police officer is seen asking the couple to get out of their hire car and telling them they were being questioned because the man’s “tats” indicated a possible affiliation with a motorcycle gang.
“We’ve got legislation down here (in Queensland) where if we identify a potential member of a criminal motorcycle gang, we have the power to stop, detain and search you,” the officer says.
“At this moment, I’m exercising that power.”
When the man says he was not doing anything illegal, she replies: “You don’t have to be, mate.”
“So you just pulled me over because you’ve seen the tattoos on my neck?” Mr Foelmli asks, to be told: “Yep, absolutely.”
The officer asked him to hand over the mobile phone he was using to be film and can be seen pulling out a Taser when he refuses and turns towards the car, when the footage suddenly stops.
The video has gone viral, being viewed more than 2.5 million times and shared by 49,000 people on Facebook.
In the accompanying caption on his girlfriend’s Facebook page, Mr Foelmli wrote that they were on their way out of Gold Coast Airport on holiday at the time.
He said police noticed the number 13 tattooed on his neck, adding: “I was strip searched on the side of a major freeway by four officers and told to get on the ground…as soon as we got pulled over I started recording because I have been advised to from lawyer in case something like this may happen.”
Mr Foelmli claimed that a search of his car revealed nothing and that police told him to delete the footage or they would confiscate his and his girlfriend’s phones.
He alleged that an officer deleted the footage but it had already been backed up.
Mr Foelmli’s Facebook indicates that he is a member of the Rebels Motorcycle Club, the largest in Australia.
Its distinctive insignia is a Confederate flag with a hat-wearing scull and the group is also associated with the number 13.
While the Rebels’ constitution says drugs are “looked down on”, with heroin being particularly “taboo”, police have accused the group of being a criminal organisation after years of turf wars, shootings and attacks.
Inspector Shane Holmes, from Queensland Police, told the Brisbane Times the officer's actions were lawful and reasonable.
“When this gentleman unexpectedly reached into the car, the officers immediately feared for their safety and drew the taser as a precaution,” he said.
“It emerged he was retrieving his ID but the officers were not to know this and their actions were completely appropriate in the circumstances.”
The Queensland Police Service is reviewing the incident but said no complaints had been filed.
