The assistant commissioner of Victoria police, Luke Cornelius, said he was unsure if an incident involving a mentally ill disability pensioner being pinned down by several police officers, hit with a baton, sprayed with capsicum spray and filmed by an officer in his Melbourne front yard would have been investigated if not for the CCTV footage.
The incident, caught on CCTV and aired on ABC television on Tuesday, shows about half a dozen officers took part before the man was sprayed with water from a high-pressure garden hose.
CCTV captured #police dragging a disability pensioner from his home, pinning him down and using capsicum spray on him. More tonight #abc730 pic.twitter.com/0oTWhEXxgZ
— abc730 (@abc730) April 2, 2018
“When [the footage] was first shown to me last week, I was very concerned by what the vision depicted,” Cornelius said on Tuesday. “The conduct displayed demanded examination and explanation. The members involved clearly needed to be called to account for their conduct.”
The incident is now being investigated by Victoria’s anti-corruption agency, Ibac, he said.
“As a result, I’m unable to make any further public comment about these matters until the Ibac investigation has concluded.”
Asked if the pensioner would have had any chance of the matter being properly investigated had he not had CCTV footage, Cornelius replied: “Look, I’ll be honest with you … I don’t know the answer to that question.
“I will say to you the availability of CCTV footage, while not determinative of an outcome into police conduct, is of great assistance,” he said.
The ABC reported police were called by the man’s carers, who were concerned about his mental state.
The pensioner, who identified himself to the ABC as John, told the 7.3o program he thought he would die when officers hosed his face after spraying him with capsicum spray.
“He’s aiming for my nostrils and it’s going into my lungs — and that’s when I started choking from the water and from the hot mace going into my respiratory [system],” he said. “I couldn’t breathe.”
The ABC reported John is also launching a civil case.
Cornelius said the six police officers involved were still working for Victoria police.
“Look, it’s not our practice to immediately stand members down upon receipt of a complaint,” he said. “Each of them know that their conduct is the subject of significant scrutiny, including the publication of the CCTV footage that we’ve all seen.”
In a statement Ibac confirmed it was investigating “serious allegations of excessive use of force” by the officers. Ibac also clarified that Victoria police was responsible for determining whether the officers were stood down from policing duties while they are subject to investigation.
