Officer filmed during `brutal' attack

09 jun 01

VERNON Moran was subjected to a "brutal and vicious" attack when a country police officer slammed his head against a wall and dragged him by the hair into a cell.

The attack may have gone undetected except for an internal police video fixed in the station, footage from which has "sickened" NSW Police Commissioner Peter Ryan, prompting him to order a fresh investigation into the assault.

The footage is now the central exhibit in an unusual District Court case where the NSW Government is suing a former officer who is alleged to have committed the assault.

Mr Moran began action this week against the State and the officer, Peter Elliott Connett, who has left the service, over the incident in Armidale station in the early hours of January 14, 1997.

He settled his case against the State and dropped the action against Mr Connett on Wednesday for an undisclosed sum but now Mr Connett, a former senior constable, is being pursued in a cross claim to shift the damages payout.
The video was played during evidence and Judge Roger Keleman yesterday agreed to release the footage, which also depicts two other officers ignoring Mr Moran.

In the witness box Mr Moran said he was knocked unconscious when Mr Connett grabbed him by the back of the head and propelled him into a wall.

"After my head hit the wall I don't remember nothing. I had a big gash with dried up blood across me and blood all down the right side of my face," he said. The closed-circuit television footage shows Mr Moran slumped on the floor and then being grabbed by the hair.

Mr Connett opened a door to the cell, grabbed Mr Moran again by the hair and threw him into the holding room.
Judge Keleman said the case had been previously reported but "none of those descriptions were able to effectively convey the brutality and viciousness of the assault as shown in the video tape".

Judge Keleman has described the act as "callous" and said it was done with complete disregard for Mr Moran's rights. Mr Connett has not attended court and the Judge was told he has been suffering ill health.

The video also shows two other officers apparently failing to act as the assault took place before them.
Commissioner Ryan yesterday singled out the two officers as next in the line.

Mr Ryan said he understood the other officers had only been placed on "performance monitoring for a period of time". He had ordered a fresh investigation of all those involved in the bashing, by Internal Affairs and the Solicitor-General's office.

"I want to find out exactly what the investigation discovered about them and what action was taken against them.
"In my view, it wasn't sufficient," he said.
The case has been adjourned until next week.

____________________________________________________
Ends

This article neglected to mention the Aboriginality of the victim. These three racist cops should be in a prison with a longer sentence than 'mere' citizens.

Why is all that pre-election crap about Law and Order thrown out, when the people pledged to serve and protect us break the rules? This 'brutal' attack occurred in early 1997.

"There is a double standard in the enforcement of law and a double standard in the respect for particular laws."

"To ignore evil (racism) is to be an accomplice to it."

Martin Luther King - Chaos or Community? 1967.

Mick Lambe: Coordinator - PARIAH
People Against Racist Incarceration And Harassment

Thanks for this post Mick
I noticed this story covered on the news but not in such depth as here on IMC (of course)
Are you in contact with Vernon Moran, it would be nice to get the video up on the site too, we can help with this at the sydney imc
Cheers jj

Thanks John J

I searched the net (we do not own a TV) but found no clips.

It seemed strange to me, that a story centered around a video, was the only one without a video clip. Very strange.

Another request on Melbourne.Indy for said. Can anyone out there help? Even a video of the TV story would be a start. Contact us or johnj@cat.org.au

I'll get onto it John. I despise racist cover ups.

Coincidently. My Mother's family name is Moran (Irish).

More...

From ABC web site:-

Police bashing video strains race relations

Indigenous leaders in Armidale, in the New South Wales New England region, say race relations are near flashpoint following the screening of a video showing a police officer bashing an Aboriginal man in custody.

Aboriginal community members are considering a march through the streets of the town to raise awareness of the problem.

Vernon Moran successfully sued the NSW Government for compensation after he was attacked in an Armidale police cell four years ago.

A "sickened" Police Commissioner Peter Ryan yesterday apologised to Mr Moran's family and ordered the reopening of an investigation into the incident, after the release of the video.

However, local Aboriginal leader Tom Bricks says the bashing is just one example of tensions between indigenous people, the police and the wider Armidale community.

"We can't get a job, we've got this work for the dole program here, but we can't get off the work for the dole program," he said.

"There's nothing in this town for us, and no white fellas want to employ [Aboriginal] people in this town."

SOURCE: http://www.abc.net.au/news/state/nsw/metnsw-9jun2001-10.htm

pariahmob

More on this...

Racism and Secrecy are inseparable in Australia. Misinformation and cover ups are as institutionalized as racism. Sympathy for a brutal, racist cop has surfaced quickly, alleging a mental condition was responsible. This 'positive spin' fails to explain the inaction of two other Police Officers present during the incident.
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We knew they'd come up with something for the Public to swallow. The "allegedly" is scary. ________________________

08:13 AEDT Sat 9 Jun 2001

Police Association slams Aboriginal assault cross-claim

The NSW Police Association has criticised moves by the police service to sue a retired policeman who was captured on video assaulting an Aboriginal man.

The video shows Peter Elliott Connett allegedly slamming Vernon Moran, 28, of Armidale, against a wall and then dragging him by the hair into a cell at Armidale police station on January 14, 1997.

Association president Ian Ball said the cross-claim against Mr Connett was unjustified. "Particularly in this case where this former member was found to be ... mentally incapable at the time of the matter," he said.

"In fact this member was mentally unwell well before this matter but some people in the police service just have not bothered in the last five years to implement any sort of program to make sure these people are not placed in the position that this poor devil's been placed in.

" The cross-claim against Mr Connett follows a settlement with the victim for an undisclosed amount earlier this week. Mr Ball said there would be grave implications for the way police officers conducted themselves on duty if the Crown was to successfully sue Mr Connett.

"The implications for police officers would be that under no circumstances should they get into what is a contact sport," he said.

"They should not get into physical confrontations because they cannot be guaranteed that they won't be counter-sued by both the police service and the state government.

"Both organisations should hang their heads in shame over this." The police service should be concerned about the way in which a police officer with an obvious mental illness was treated, Mr Ball said.

"This poor devil had been left out in an operating environment despite the fact that people knew he wasn't well," he said. "I'll tell you who's responsible.

There are people in the police service who've been charged with reforming it and that hasn't happened because let me tell you in terms of assistance to members who are not mentally well, very little's changed.

" Mr Ball said another officer also was being sued by the state government, but refused to give details on the matter.

Police Commissioner Peter Ryan said the association's accusation was ridiculous. "Police officers who act like this are acting totally outside any way that we are going to support them in defending claims against them," he said.

"They are breaking the law and they are acting in a way that is totally contrary to service policy and normal human behaviour. They will get no support from me ever."

Mr Ball said the NSW Police Association could not officially assist Mr Connett, who has remained without counsel in court, because he was no longer a member of the police service. However he said the association was examining the circumstances to determine whether it could help.

SOURCE http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/story_14229.asp ©AAP 2001 __________________________________________________________

What about his bloody victim? This is disgusting. Were the cops who witnessed this criminal assault "poor devils" too?

The way events are unfolding - it might be a good idea for NSW Police Commissioner Peter Ryan - to have the incident widely publicized.

No image files (of a news story about a video clip) have surfaced on the WWW.

Is this net censorship of institutionalized Police racism?

Is this a rhetorical question?

mick lambe - Coordinator PARIAH
People Against Racist Incarceration And Harassment

It's OK to bash the boong like that in the police station, 'cause the policeman was mentally ill. Righty ho then! Next time I get violent, I'll use that as my excuse ;-).

But why weren't the other officers present trying to stop the assault? Even if the officer was psychotic (which he most likely wasn't), they could have done a Roni Levi to stop him from commiting violence, but they didn't, cause the attacker was a cop and the victim was aboriginal.

If you are trying to defend the indefensible, at LEAST come up with a slightly less see thru excuse!

See

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1380000/video/_1381169_aus01_cole_vi.ram

Strange how Australian media are incapable of reporting Australian issues ...

PARIAH thanked the British Broadcasting Commission and sent them the links to Oz indymedias.

Evidence that a culture of racist violence exists in Australian Police Forces will not be a surprise to their victims. The attempts by the NSW Police Association to excuse or downplay this behaviour do the opposite.

Instead they provide new evidence of an institutionalized contempt for the rights of Aboriginal people. Some sympathy for the true victim of this ugly incident should have been forthcoming.

How many times has this sort of incident taken place and in how many Police stations, in Australia?

Obviously the 'Black deaths in custody' Royal Commission, had little effect on Police attitudes and behaviour. A fact that surfaces in the Coroner's report of every new Aboriginal death in Custody.

The allegations of cruelty to the so-called "illegal aliens" should be reexamined in the light of this evidence.

Evidence of Australia's true regard for the rights of people - unlucky enough to be born non-white in the Lucky country.