Post by Sayf Udeen Ismaeel on Oct 23, 2009 23:22:46 GMT -5
Northern Territory police fed prisoner food from garbage
- Man taken into custody after break-in
- Called "retard", "dickhead"
- Given toast and milk from bin
A MAN who fell asleep outside the house he had just burgled was given food from a rubbish bin by police after being taken into custody.
Territory Ombudsman Carolyn Richards said security camera footage at the watch-house showed an officer picking toast and a carton of milk from a bin and giving it to the criminal.
The man in custody was also abused by police.
One officer said: "He's from CSI - one of our smart criminals who breaks and enters and then collapses outside the scene."
The man was also called a "loser", "retard", "dickhead", "stupid idiot" and "piece of s***".
And when the criminal threatened to kill himself by jumping in the air and landing on his head, an officer allegedly said: "Go ahead - do it."
When the man tried to telephone his wife, in contravention of a domestic violence order, a policeman told him to get back in his cell and called him a "wanker".
Ms Richards said in her annual report published yesterday that all the comments were "inappropriate".
The Police Association said last night that the Ombudsman and her predecessor, Peter Boyce, "always painted police in a bad light".
But Association president Vince Kelly said: "They never tell the whole story."
Ms Richard conceded that there was no description in her report of how the criminal behaved towards the officers.
"I'm not here to judge members of the public," she said. "I'm here to decide how the police behaved.
"Hard as it might be for police officers to deal with provocative and insulting behaviour, a trained officer must at all times conduct him/herself professionally and not sink to the standards of those who have no respect for the law ...
"To act contrary to accepted standards of behaviour dishonours the police force and the officer concerned ...
"Responding to the severe provocation is understandable but it is not permissible by an officer, who has a code of conduct and has sworn to abide by it at all times.
"We live under a rule of law - and it is not the law of the jungle."
The Ombudsman's report does not say where the incident happened.
www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26253266-17001,00.html
Grrr. Disgusting display.
Like, I know he's almost definitely guilty (based on how he was found) but seriously, how can they reconcile such treatment?
