A video has emerged showing an Indigenous woman being pushed to the ground by a police officer in Karratha, Western Australia. Beverley Hubert, 63, claims she intervened when her nephew was arrested for multiple charges, and that the officer told her to back off before pushing her. The incident led to four people being charged, including Ms Hubert herself, who is facing an additional charge of assaulting a public officer. Police are reviewing the use of force in the incident, which occurred on Tuesday morning outside a block of units.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Beverley Hubert, a 63-year-old Indigenous woman, was pushed to the ground by a police officer in Karratha, Western Australia, on Tuesday morning. The incident was caught on video, but it does not show what led up to the push. According to Ms. Hubert, she and her family members were intervening after police arrived to arrest her 33-year-old nephew, who is facing charges including criminal damage and reckless driving. Ms. Hubert alleged that the arrest was heavy-handed and that she fell on her backside when pushed by the officer, hitting her head on the gravel. Four people, including Ms. Hubert herself, were charged in connection with the altercation, which involved police using pepper spray against others present. The incident is now under review to determine whether the use of force was justified.
Written for “Police Use of Force Investigation” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but all 1 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 7883: attributed speech only · logged 2026-09-11
Police in Western Australia are reviewing whether use of force was justified after a video appeared to show an officer push an older Indigenous woman to the ground in the state's north.
asserted
officer → review → north
The altercation happened outside a block of units in Karratha on Tuesday morning, and led to four people being charged, including the woman herself.
The video does not show what led up to Beverley Hubert, 63, being pushed to the ground by one of the officers.
However, Ms Hubert said she and other family members intervened after police arrived at the units to arrest her 33-year-old nephew, an arrest she alleged was heavy-handed.
asserted
she → happen → nephew
Her nephew is facing a string of charges including criminal damage and reckless driving.
"We sort of got up and went towards them, rushing towards them, I was dawdling across because I didn't have a walker, but I managed to walk across slowly," she said.
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she → face → walker
"That bloke walked up, telling me to back off.
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bloke → walk → me
[He] pushed me over."
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He → push → me
Ms Hubert said she fell on her backside and her head hit the gravel, although the camera pans away from her at that point.
asserted
camera → say → point
The video also showed people being pepper sprayed, as well as another woman pushing the same police officer as Ms Hubert remains on the ground.
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Hubert → show → ground
Swearing and verbal abuse directed at police can be heard, as well as a woman identifying herself as the woman's daughter, saying Ms Hubert was a dialysis patient.
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Hubert → swear → daughter
Police to review incident
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Police → review → incident
In a statement, WA police said they called an ambulance after a 63-year-old woman fell over, but she declined their assistance.
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she → say → assistance
She has been charged with assaulting a public officer, as well as two other women aged 31 and 56.
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She → charge → officer
A police spokesperson said officers utilise "a range of less lethal tactical options to support officers in resolving incidents safely while minimising harm"
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officers → say → harm
"Police are trained to apply the minimum force necessary and to continually reassess and de-escalate where possible.
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Police → train → force
The 33-year-old man who was arrested was facing four charges and two additional charges were laid after the incident, including obstructing a police officer.
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charges → arrest → officer