A WA Police officer nicknamed ‘Tiny’ ironically due to his solid build, who allegedly held his knee on the back of an Aboriginal boy for so long he begged for his life, is facing calls to be “stood down immediately”.
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he → nickname → calls
The same Geraldton officer, Constable Lachlan Costello, allegedly wore a badge with “FOLD C--TS” on his police uniform during a separate arrest of a 16-year-old Aboriginal teenager in 2024, with both incidents allegedly captured on body-worn footage.
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incidents → wear → footage
The allegations were detailed by Aboriginal Legal Service of WA chief executive officer Peter Collins during a parliamentary committee hearing in May, while he was giving evidence into ways to modernise the Corruption and Crime Commission Act.
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he → detail → Act
While describing the first incident that allegedly occurred early last year, Collins told the inquiry the boy was running away from the officer, before stopping and lowering to the ground, and putting both hands behind his back.
“When the officer reaches the boy, he drives his knee into his back.
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he → describe → back
The force of the impact is audible … and causes the boy to cry out in pain.
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boy → cause → pain
The officer then uses his knee to pin the boy to the ground, pressing his weight into his back for about half a minute,” Collins told the committee.
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Collins → use → committee
Collins said while the officer was still allegedly on the boy’s back, the boy said: “Tiny, you’re going to kill me bro.
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you → say → bro
I can’t breathe, Tiny.
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I → breathe → ?
I love my family, Tiny.
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I → love → family
Please … please, I love my mum, man.”
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I → love → mum
The boy repeated he thought he was going to die.
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he → repeat → ?
In relation to the alleged ‘FOLD C--TS’ badge incident in 2024, the same officer was shown on another officer’s body-worn footage turning off his camera while talking to the boy, telling him he would give him bail if he spoke to them.
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he → allege → them
Stills from that footage were published by the ABC on Tuesday after it was obtained following a freedom of information request.
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it → publish → request
Collins told the committee the officer was recorded saying the boy was “singing” because “he’s shit scared”.
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he → tell → committee
Collins, who has been with the ALS for almost 30 years, told the committee the incident was “very close to the worst thing I have ever seen”.
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I → tell → thing
It is totally inappropriate, and it speaks of a willingness to engage in violence, in this instance, against Aboriginal children,” he told the committee.
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he → speak → committee
“The fact that a police officer was emboldened to paste this message on his uniform while arresting a ‘shit-scared’, as he described it, Aboriginal child is egregious.”
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he → embolden → child
Collins told the committee he had complained directly to WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch late last year about the officer wearing the badge, but had received no response six months later.
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he → tell → response
He said a separate complaint he made about the knee-press incident also “went nowhere”.
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he → say → incident
“That is conduct, unarguably, in my view ... a charge of assault would inevitably be preferred,” he told the committee.
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he → prefer → committee
“A police complaint made by me went nowhere.
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complaint → make → me
This masthead has contacted WA Police for comment from Costello, and on the matters of the badge and knee-press incident.
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masthead → contact → incident
A police spokesperson told the ABC the badge matter was an “isolated incident”, and the badge had been identified by a supervisor and removed before the officer attended his next incident.
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officer → tell → incident
The spokesperson told the ABC the officer engaged with local youths through sport, where the term on the badge was common, but that did not excuse the conduct and the officer was “appropriately sanctioned and educated”.
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officer → tell → conduct
WA Greens leader Brad Pettitt told this masthead the allegations were “unthinkable”.
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allegations → tell → masthead
“A child pleading he ‘can’t breathe’, terrified an officer is about to kill him, should be unthinkable in Western Australia,” he said.
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he → plead → Australia
“There are no circumstances where police should use excessive and unreasonable force against anybody, let alone a child.”
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police → be → anybody
Pettitt said the incidents could not be separated from broader concerns about systemic racism and the treatment of Aboriginal children in WA.
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incidents → say → WA
“First Nations children in WA are locked up at 25 times the rate of non-Indigenous children,” he said.
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he → lock → children
“Anyone who claims race plays no part in who gets policed and punished in this state should explain that number.”
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who → claim → number
He said both incidents raised “serious questions” about what WA Police tolerated.
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Police → say → what
Pettitt also called for immediate action to be taken by WA Police.
“Any public servant wearing such a badge should be stood down immediately and investigated, a police officer with the power to detain and use force,” Pettitt said.
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Pettitt → call → force
If you have more information, please contact WAtoday reporter Carla Hildebrandt.
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you → have → Hildebrandt
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