Homeless or “troublesome” indigenous people are being moved out of Top End hotspots in an effort to “clean up the streets” ahead of VIP visits including that of Premier Anthony Albanese, Aboriginal police officers have said.
Aboriginal Community Police Officers (ACPO) have confirmed they have been ordered to remove indigenous people sleeping or gathering in public areas ahead of large events in Darwin or Alice Springs, despite previous denials by Northern Territory Police.
In documents submitted to the Australian Human Rights Commission, 20 officers say they are directed to “give the public the perception that homelessness and anti-social behaviour are not a problem”. The Australian information.
The documents claim that Indigenous people are regularly flown in from urban centres for events such as Anzac Day, Darwin Blitz Memorial Day and visits by dignitaries such as Mr Albanese, King Charles and US President Barack Obama.
Some areas of Darwin have been designated as hotspots that must be kept free of Indigenous congregations, including council chambers, public housing, Crown land and security companies.
In its complaint, ACPO said it recorded patrols and kept statistics on the indigenous people it asked to move on and that they often complained that they were simply sitting in an area and had done nothing wrong.
Meanwhile, groups of white people who gathered or loitered were not asked to leave, according to complaints filed with the commission.
One officer also claimed to have witnessed a white officer abusing two Indigenous artists, calling the women “black bitches” and “black camp bitches.”
Aboriginal Community Policing Officers (ACPO) say they have been ordered to stay away from Aboriginal people sleeping or gathering in communal areas before large events in Darwin or Alice Springs (pictured: two Aboriginal women in Alice Springs)
Mr Albanese is pictured with Gumatj leader Djawa Yunupingu during the Garma Festival
The white officer allegedly dragged a woman by her leg into the back of a pickup truck while they were being arrested.
He also alleged that officers mistreated or abused Indigenous people by secretly urinating in a man’s wine barrel, showing a photo of a monkey that an Indigenous man interviewed could not see but other officers could, and challenging a drunken elder to a fight and making false accusations.
An Aboriginal officer said she was left in tears after an incident with an Aboriginal man while on patrol with a white officer.
She claimed the officer had shouted “Put the beer bottle down!” before grabbing the man by the ankles and They put him in the cage of the police car.
Because the man’s reflexes were compromised, he was unable to protect himself and suffered the full impact of the fall.
The complaint also claims that a senior officer said, “We used to shoot these fucking niggers back where we come from.”
It is also alleged that one ACPO was intimidated by other officers at the station with bullets twice left on top of his work locker.
Former AFL player Shawn Lewfatt and Northern Territory Police Association executive member Lisa Burkenhagen say they and other ACPOs have been racially slandered “as lazy, useless slackers” and called “SLACPOs” by white officers.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy tendered an apology to First Nations people at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory in August (pictured)
The complaint alleges that ACPOs regularly perform much of the same work as regular Northern Territory police, including operational and investigative duties, but for less pay.
The ACPOs are now seeking compensation for what they say are two decades of substandard working conditions and for the pain and suffering caused by “systemic racism” in the Northern Territory Police Force.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy, who recently apologized for historical injustices in policing Indigenous people, did not directly address the substance of the complaint in a statement Saturday.
He said the complaint was “a positive step for the Northern Territory Police because its members have the confidence to speak out about issues such as racism”.
“We are committed to cultural reform and continue to move toward a safe workplace and investment in leadership and pathways for all of our employees, for a safer Territory,” the commissioner said.
