An Australian court was shown a surveillance video of a policeman grabbing an Aboriginal man, Darius Cebu, in a wheelchair by the throat during his arrest in 2019, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2021) An Australian court was shown a surveillance video of a policeman grabbing an Aboriginal man, Darius Cebu, in a wheelchair by the throat during his arrest in 2019, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Friday.
In June, the Darwin Local Court found Cebu guilty of assaulting a police officer during his arrest in 2019. The local court found the level of force used by the police lawful. However, Aboriginal lawyers expressed disagreement with the decision and appealed to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory of Australia, believing that the use of force against the man was unwarranted.
According to the ABC, the video shown in the Darwin court recorded Cebu in a wheelchair being pursued by three officers who believed him to have stolen alcohol from a store. One of the officers took two bottles from Cebu and grabbed him by the throat, whereupon his wheelchair collapsed. Then the policemen spun the chair around. The video also showed Cebu arguing with the police and reaching out to a female police officer, after which he was handcuffed.
"It was not just improper, it was unlawful, a crime. That crime carries a significant term of imprisonment," one of the lawyers, Barrister Patrick Coleridge, said as quoted by the the broadcaster.
According to the media, the prosecutor's office, on the contrary, considers the actions of the police to be justified and lawful.
This week, Aboriginal legal aid lawyers applied to the Northern Territory Supreme Court to challenge the allegations against Cebu. They claim that there is no evidence for the accusations against the Aboriginal man. The lawyers also argue that the police search was illegal, since Cebu had gotten the alcohol from other people, with there being no evidence that he stole it.
