Media Release - Operation Krosno

LECC Report into investigation of NSWPF officers involved in arrest of 14 year old Aboriginal male

Media Release

26.10.2021

LECC Report into investigation of NSWPF officers involved in arrest of 14 year old Aboriginal male

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission furnished its report in Operation Krosno to Parliament today.

The investigation found that the evidence did not support a finding that any police officer involved in the arrest of a 14 year old Aboriginal male (‘the young person’) had engaged in serious misconduct.

Private hearings were conducted by the Commission in April 2021 at which the officers were shown police helicopter footage of their involvement in the arrest of the young person on 18 August 2020. The arrest was the culmination of a police pursuit of a stolen motor vehicle in which the young person was a passenger. Once the vehicle had stopped, the young person exited the vehicle and ran into an area surrounded by shipping containers and other stationary motor vehicles to escape from police.

The exact moment of the arrest was not captured on the police helicopter footage, but the evidence of the arresting officer was that he tackled the young person in order to effect the arrest. After the young person was apprehended, officers noticed that he had suffered numerous lacerations to his face, including a 4cm laceration to his left cheek. The young person alleged that he had been repeatedly kicked and punched by the officers, including being hit in the face with police radios.

Findings

The Commission finds that the young person sustained serious injuries to his face during the arrest, and that these injuries were a result of being tackled by the arresting police officer and falling with the police officer against a shipping container, which contained metal handles and hinges. The Commission was satisfied that the injuries caused to the young person were not inflicted intentionally or as a result of unreasonable use of force, and the evidence does not support a finding that any police officer engaged in serious misconduct.

The Commission recommends that in these circumstances there be a greater use of body-worn cameras, that investigative steps such as photographing the shipping containers and other relevant surfaces be taken, and that the method of operation be reviewed and consideration given to the allocation of command and control responsibilities where there are multiple teams involved in any one operation. The Commission also recommends that operation checks be instituted to ensure that use of force is recorded where injuries arise in the course of a police operation.

The Operation Krosno report can be accessed on the Commission’s website HERE.