Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog will take control of a criminal investigation into the actions of two officers who allegedly stomped on a man’s head and hit him with a car during an arrest in Melbourne’s north.
Footage of the man’s arrest was posted to social media, including a moment when one of the officers making the arrest appears to stomp on the man’s head as he lies on the ground, surrounded by other officers.
A second video showed the man running on the street and striking out at a police car before he was knocked over by another police vehicle.
At a press conference this afternoon, Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson said he had viewed the footage online and footage from the body cameras of officers and concluded that it was an “inappropriate use of force by a police member with regard to the kick or the stomp to the head of the man involved in that incident”.
“I’ve also formed the view that the use of force in using a police vehicle with the man involved in that incident is concerning,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Paterson said the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) would take over a criminal investigation into the matters and Victoria Police would hand its evidence and records to IBAC.
He said the officer who stomped on the man’s head during the arrest had been suspended with full pay, while the officer driving the car that struck the man had had their authority to drive a police car withdrawn.
The suspended officer is a senior constable from the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), Victoria Police said in a statement this morning.
In a brief statement, IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich confirmed the police oversight agency would independently investigate the arrest.
“Given the potentially serious nature of this incident, IBAC has determined it is in the public interest to independently investigate this matter,” he said.
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