A 45-year-old Western Australian man has been charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly tied three Aboriginal children together with cable ties in a Broome driveway on Tuesday afternoon.
Police were called to the home about 2.15pm on 5 March after an alleged trespassing incident, to find a six-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy tied up.
They later found a third child, an eight-year-old boy, who they said had been detained but fled before police arrived.
In a heated video shared on social media, the two children can be seen sitting next to a garage tied up, as the man argues with other members of the public who are encouraging him to untie the children.
The children can be heard crying in the footage which was live-streamed before police arrested the man. The children remained restrained despite the pleas of bystanders.
One of the women filming later told local media the children had been crying for their mother.
“They were frightened. They were crying, shaking and singing out for their mum,” she alleged. “We were yelling at him to tell them to release them.”
On Wednesday morning WA police acting assistant commissioner Rod Wilde said the 45-year-old, who was subsequently charged, called police to say he had restrained three children.
He said police would allege the force used to restrain the children was not appropriate.
“There is a power under that [Criminal Investigations Act] to make a citizen’s arrest where people can be restrained. There are some conditions around that … the police have to be advised forthwith and attend and take over,” he said.
“Whatever force you apply to arrest someone needs to be reasonable, given the age of the person involved, the vulnerability, and all of those things that be taken into account by the court.
“In this case, it’s the basis of the charges that it’s disproportionate to what is reasonable in the circumstances.”
He said after they went to the house, they investigated and the 45-year-old man was taken into custody at a Broome police station where he was subsequently charged with three counts of aggravated common assault.
Police had spoken to the children’s parents to investigate the allegation made against them for trespassing, he said.
“Children under 10 are not going to be criminally responsible,” Wilde said.
“We’re engaging with the children’s parents … They’re certainly keen for the court process to run its course.”
The man was granted bail and is due to appear in court at a later date.
State MP for Kimberley, Divina D’Anna, who is a Yawuru, Nimanburr and Bardi woman, also called for calm in the wake of the incident.
She told Guardian Australia she was “appalled” by the footage.
“The vision in the video was disturbing and confronting,” D’Anna said.
“As the matter is subject to a police inquiry it would be inappropriate to make further comment. At this time it’s important the community remains calm and allows the police to conduct the investigation.”
The officers called St John Ambulance to assess the children, who were reunited with family members soon afterwards.
