The Aboriginal Legal Service has welcomed judicial condemnation of the "unacceptable and deeply concerning treatment" of one of the agency's young clients in ACT police custody.
In a statement on Thursday, ALS NSW/ACT noted that the then 17-year-old boy was tasered while already restrained, called a "fucking idiot," taunted about not having parents, and pinned down screaming as officers forcibly cut off a layer of his clothing. The watch house sergeant was also recorded taunting the boy with references to suicide.
The ALS noted that during sentencing of the young man on Tuesday, Justice Louise Taylor rebuked the sergeant's "callous and casual disregard for [his] duty of care".
"Sergeant Mellor's discharge of his watch house duties was a shameful reflection of his personal attitude. An attitude which rendered him entirely unsuitable for the role," Justice Taylor said, Canberra Times reports.
Justice Taylor referenced the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, particularly recommendation 134 which states that police should treat detainees with humanity and courtesy.
"It is a sad indictment on a modern police force that in 2025, recommendation 134 remains relevant," Justice Taylor said.
The ALS also noted that Her Honour commented on our client being "unjustifiably tasered, demeaned and physically punished by police".
View this post on Instagram
Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT chief executive Karly Warner said: "We welcome the public scrutiny this incident has received since it was reported, and we welcome Justice Taylor's strong rebuke of the police conduct."
"No child should ever be subjected to such dehumanising treatment, but for this to occur at the hands of a senior police officer responsible for their welfare in custody is horrifying," she said.
"The physical abuse involved is deeply disturbing. Even more distressing is the fact that police taunted this young person towards suicide while vulnerable and deprived of his liberty in the ACT watch house – in a context where at least 590 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in watch houses, prisons and police operations since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody 35 years ago."
The Aboriginal Legal Service is calling for greater independent oversight of and accountability for ACT Policing, echoing similar calls from the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body and the ACT Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People.
"This was a clear abuse of power, and behaviour like this has no place in law enforcement. We will be monitoring how ACT Policing respond and expect that there will be a thorough and transparent investigation leading to real accountability," Ms Warner said.
