An Ethiopian man who alleges he was a victim of police brutality and racism six years ago in Williamstown has won an appeal to have the matter referred to the state’s anti-corruption body.
Nassir Bare said that in 2009, when he was 17, police intercepted a car he was in and officers allegedly bashed, capsicum-sprayed and racially abused him before taking him to a house where his head was held under water.
Mr Bare complained to the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) in 2010, but it decided not to investigate the allegations and referred the complaint to police to investigate.
Mr Bare sought a judicial review in the Supreme Court, but his case was dismissed in 2013.
Last week, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision and ordered the matter be sent to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, which has replaced the OPI.
It was a 2-1 majority decision, with Justices Pamela Tate and Joseph Santamaria allowing the appeal and Chief Justice Marilyn Warren saying she would have dismissed it.
The complaint stems from an incident on February 16, 2009, with Mr Bare saying police stopped a car in which he was travelling.
“When he got out of the car, he alleged that a police officer pushed him up against the vehicle, handcuffed him and then kicked his legs out from under him,” the appeal judges said. “The appellant further claimed that, as he lay on the ground, the officer pushed his head to the ground so that his chin struck the gutter.
“The officer then grabbed him by the hair and repeatedly pushed his head into the gutter and four of five of his teeth were chipped. His jaw was cut, which resulted in scarring. The officer sprayed him in the face with OC [capsicum] spray several times.
“During the alleged assault, the appellant claimed that the officer said words to the effect: ‘You black people think you can come to this country and steal cars. We give you a second chance and you come and steal cars’.
“The appellant complained that he was taken to a nearby house and the officers held his head under water for a long period.”
Youth law advocacy and human rights officer Tiffany Overall said it was a landmark appeal decision, but it did not find there was an automatic right to independent investigation of serious complaints against police.
“We now call on the Victorian government to carefully consider this decision and put in place the mechanisms and resources required to ensure all complaints of police misconduct are independently investigated,” she said.
