Video of violent western Sydney arrest prompts concerns over police use of force

In a video posted to social media, a NSW police officer is seen using pepper spray while another knees a man to the ribcage during an arrest in Mount Druitt.

Police had been called to the scene, after a 17-year-old girl allegedly threatened to kill a shop assistant after slamming a trolley through a glass door. The man in the video was eventually arrested and charged with obstructing police.

Former police officer, NSW Police Minister and now state MLC Mike Gallacher said the footage highlights the dangers officers put themselves in but according to civil libertarians, there was no need for officers to strike or knee the man they were trying to arrest.

“That does look like gratuitous violence by the police by someone who they were able to overpower and arrest,” NSW Council for Civil Liberties spokesperson Stephen Blanks said.

See Article, with VideoShocking video shows police officer knee man in ribcage during violent western Sydney arrest

Source: Channel 7 News