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Canberra man accuses police of racial profiling after arrest for
trespassing at his own home
(HTM) Source
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A Canberra man has lodged a formal complaint with ACT Policing after
he was arrested, handcuffed and put into the back of a police vehicle
because police assumed he was trespassing.
Tuck, who does not wish to be identified by his full name, believes he
was the victim of racial profiling as a result of the incident, which
took place last week at his apartment complex in Narrabundah.
Recovering from an emergency cardiac issue and hospital stay last
Thursday, June 27, Tuck decided to go and sit by the pool and barbecue
area within his apartment complex, to get some sun, about midday.
Tuck, who holds multiple degrees including a Masters, and works in
health policy for a Canberra organisation, was wearing a hoodie,
slippers and fleece trackpants at the time, according to his official
report.
It was then that things took a turn for the unexpected, when a
neighbour, who had been outside washing his car, approached him and
began demanding answers about what he was doing.
"I don't remember [a] greeting. The first thing I remember him asking
me is, 'Where are you from?'" Tuck said.
"I was confused at the question, because I wasn't sure if he was
asking about my ethnic origin or whether he was asking about if I
[live] within the complex.
"And while I was still trying to understand the question, he said:
'You're not supposed to be here.'"
Tuck said from then on, the neighbour became increasingly
"discourteous" when he refused to tell him where he lived and began
asking his neighbour for the same details.
When his neighbour told him he was going to call the police, Tuck told
him to go ahead, believing they would protect him from his neighbour's
harassment.
Tuck was sitting in his apartment complex's pool and barbecue area
when the arrest occurred.(ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
## Multiple officers, cars arrived to the scene
Within 15 minutes, Tuck said five police officers and three cars
arrived to the complex, which he called "an extraordinary
overreaction".
Tuck said three officers approached him and began questioning him
about where he lived.
He responded by pointing to his house, which backs onto the shared
barbecue and pool facilities, and verbally telling the officers where
it was located.
Tuck said his response wasn't acknowledged by police, who instead
began asking him for photo identification.
"I didn't have my photo ID for obvious reasons ... I was at home. I
wouldn't carry my ID with me at home," he explained.
"I said I did have my keys ... the keys, you know, by which I exited
my townhouse, and the pool key by which I unlocked the swimming pool."
But the officers wouldn't accept this and told Tuck they'd need to see
photo ID.
"I was offended at the suggestion that they would enter my house," he
said.
"There was no search warrant. There was no report that there was
anything illegal that they needed to search for in my house," he said.
Tuck admitted he wasn't "in a hurry" to move when he was told to get
up, but did so and complied with their request.
He said he began to get nervous at this point, given the kind of
police response he had so far received, even asking the officers if
they were going to shoot him.
"Shortly after that, they began to basically escort me out of the
barbecue area ... and I didn't take kindly to that, because I had a
lawful right to be in the barbecue area," Tuck told the ABC.
As Tuck was escorted out of the barbecue area, he began filming the
interaction.
He said at that point he and the officers were engaged in a "back and
forth" argument.
The ABC has seen the footage.
ACT Policing confirmed a man was arrested at the complex after he
became "belligerent" under police instructions. (Australian Federal
Police, file photo)
## Police say officer was injured
Tuck alleges things became physical when an officer grabbed his wrist,
saying he was doing so because he had his phone in his face.
That same officer then arrested him on suspicion of trespassing.
"I was slammed onto the fence separating the barbecue from the
swimming pool area," he said.
"I was restrained on my right shoulder, and then they began to
handcuff me behind my back.
"I did not resist the arrest, I just gave up."
ACT Policing confirmed the arrest occurred and described Tuck's
behaviour leading up to it as "belligerent".
"Due to the man's behaviour, police had reasonable suspicion the man
was trespassing and he was arrested," police said.
"As officers attempted to handcuff the man, he resisted, causing a
minor injury to an officer's hand."
But Tuck said he was in shock as he told the officers where his
licence and wallet were located in his apartment and had his keys and
phone taken away.
During that interaction, one of the officers cut his hand.
Tuck said he did not know how the injury occurred.
He claimed this officer then accused him of assaulting a police
officer, a charge which was not laid by police.
During the search of his home, Tuck was locked in a police van for 10
minutes, before the officers returned, and Tuck was unarrested.
Police have confirmed he was placed in a police vehicle while officers
conducted checks on his address.
No charges have been laid, with police saying they believe the
incident to be "completed".
## Tuck says he now feels uncomfortable in his home
During the incident, Tuck said the officers also questioned him about
whether he was intoxicated or had consumed marijuana, one saying his
eyes were red and his voice appeared slurred.
He told the ABC he believes those assertions were intended to
"strengthen the profile" they were trying to create.
And while Tuck says one of the officers told him the arrest had
nothing to do with the colour of his skin, he doesn't believe that was
the case.
"[They believed] that I was an unemployed youth ... you know,
potentially of African or Indigenous descent, that was enjoying
amenities unlawfully" he said.
"I think they just hoped that indeed it was a trespass to confirm the
narrative they'd created."
Looking back now, he believes the police response was "an
extraordinary overreaction".
"I suspect it was based on the description of [me], the suspect," he
said.
Since the incident last week, Tuck said he has keenly felt the
"indignity" of it.
Although he doesn't feel unsafe at home, he does feel uncomfortable.
He said while he had experienced racism before, he believed this was
the most extreme example since he moved to Australia 17 years ago from
Zimbabwe.
Since the incident, he has been taking comfort in the support he has
received from people around him.
The ABC witnessed one neighbour at the complex approaching Tuck to
express her dismay and shame at what had occurred.
She expressed her concern and apologies and invited Tuck and his
family to come over for afternoon tea.
That interaction left Tuck visibly emotional, and he was hopeful it
could form part of any story about his arrest.
He also said he hoped his complaint would end up being treated
seriously and investigated.
## Police chief defends officers
ACT Chief Police Officer Scott Lee said he would not release the
police body-worn camera footage to the public.(ABC News)
On Wednesday, ACT Chief Police Officer Scott Lee defended the actions
of the officers who responded to the trespass complaint.
Deputy Commissioner Lee said body-camera footage from two officers had
been reviewed by ACT Policing's commander of operations.
"The body-worn cameras have been reviewed and certainly the advice
I've got from our commander is that our members acted appropriately,"
Deputy Commissioner Lee said.
"The certainly weren't racially profiling the individual and they
weren't racially motivated. They were simply responding to a complaint
where they were trying to identify whether the man was in fact a
resident.''
Deputy Commissioner Lee said Tuck had become "belligerent'' when
officers asked him to show them his apartment so that they could
confirm he lived there.
"When our police officers simply asked the man to show them the
apartment where he was living, the man obviously felt that he was
being targeted - which he wasn't - and so he became belligerent with
our police officers, which made it quite difficult for them to confirm
whether or not the man was a resident,'' he said.
Deputy Commissioner Lee said the complaint would be independently
reviewed and investigated via ACT Policing's workplace incident
complaints process.
He said he would not make the police body-worn camera footage publicly
available and did not know how many officers had been present at the
scene.
The territory's police minister, Mick Gentleman, said ACT Policing
does a "fantastic job keeping the Canberra community safe".
"There are robust complaint mechanisms in place for people who do feel
dissatisfied with the way they are treated by police and I await the
outcome of the internal investigation," he said.
"Every person has a right to feel safe. We are not a community that
tolerates racism. Vilification of someone's race or religious beliefs
is unlawful."
Mr Gentleman encouraged people to contact the ACT Human Rights
Commission if they had a complaint to make.
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