PILBARA ADVOCATE CALLS FOR CHANGE AMID CONCERN ABOUT WA POLICE ACTION IN KARRATHA
A WA Police officer appears to push a 63-year-old Aboriginal woman to the ground, during an incident in Karratha this week.
By Daniel BurdoN, TANGIORA HInAKI
A Pilbara community advocate has called for greater cultural awareness training for WA Police officers stationed in the region, after a video of an incident in Karratha earlier this week has sparked community concerns.
A video of the incident on Tuesday morning this week appears to show a young, male WA police officer pushing a local female Aboriginal Elder, known as Aunty Beverley, to the ground.
It shows the altercation involved several police officers and several other people, including Aunty Beverley, who is heard repeatedly telling the officers present that she was a dialysis patient.
It also clearly shows at least one officer using capsicum spray on another member of the public present at the scene.
Footage of WA Police officer using capsicum spray on another person involved in an incident in Karratha on Tuesday morning this week.
ADVOCATE “DEEPLY DISTURBED” BY FOOTAGE
Pilbara community advocate Michael Rickards commented on social media that he was deeply disturbed by what he saw in the footage.
He argued police should have worked to de-escalate the situation and listened to the Elder, rather than allowing the confrontation to escalate.
“What these cops did to Aunty Beverly is wrong,” Mr Rickards said.
“They are meant to de-escalate the situation and mediate an outcome.
“Listening to the old people is one thing that goes a long way.
“These young cops need to understand the cultural values around our old people speaking for and protecting the younger ones.”
The footage of the altercation between WA Police and a group of people including Aboriginal Elder, Aunty Beverley, on Tuesday morning in Karratha.
WA POLICE: “A 63-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WHO FELL OVER”
In response to Ngaarda Media’s questions, WA Police released a statement regarding the incident.
It said the officers at the scene had called St John WA Officers after “a 63-year-old woman who fell over, but she declined their assistance”.
Police also said the woman had been “summonsed to appear in court at a later date on the offence of Assault Public Officers”.
Mr Rickards’ call for greater cultural training for police officers working in remote and regional WA has been echoed by numerous calls from the state’s leading indigenous organisations in recent years.
WA CORONER CALLED FOR CULTURAL POLICE TRAINING IN 2025
Aunty Beverley on the ground, after allegedly being pushed by a WA Police officer during an altercation in Karratha on Tuesday.
In a major 2025 WA Coronial Report, WA Coroner Ros Fogliani also formally recommended WA Police oversee mandatory Aboriginal cultural awareness training for officers stationed in regions like the Pilbara.
The Coroner also recommended such training should be co-designed and delivered face-to-face by Aboriginal people with police on a regular basis, rather than the online modules used at the time.
Mr Rickards’ comments echoed the Coroner’s Report.
He said the incident highlighted the need for officers being deployed to the Pilbara to receive locally specific cultural awareness training before beginning their placements.
Mr Rickards also called for a multi-agency approach involving Traditional Owner groups, Aboriginal corporations and Elders from the communities where officers would be working.
“All cops going to the Pilbara should be doing multi-agency cultural awareness training with the relevant corporations in the area before they are placed here,” he said.
“I think the Commissioner needs to involve Elders at the academy, where officers can receive area-specific cultural awareness before they come into our communities.”
Some of the WA Police Officers who attended the altercation during an arrest of a man in Karratha on Tuesday morning.
"THEY NEED TO GO BACK TO THE ACADEMY”
Mr Rickards was particularly critical of the officers’ response to Aunty Beverly, saying police needed to understand the cultural authority and role of Elders within Aboriginal families and communities.
“If these cops think an old lady is a threat, then they need to go back to the academy or be stood down,” he said.
Mr Rickards said the footage also needed to be considered in its full context, claiming there was no swearing directed towards police until after Aunty Beverly was pushed over.
RAFT OF CHARGES LAID, AS ANOTHER WOMAN SUFFERED CHEST PAIN
In response to Ngaarda Media’s questions about the incident, WA Police released a statement saying that officers had attended a residence in Karratha to “affect an arrest”.
The statement said officers at the scene arrested a 33-year-old man from Bulgarra who was charged with six offences, including criminal damage, reckless driving, obstructing a police officer and disorderly behaviour in a police station or lock-up.
Two women aged 31 and 56 at the scene were also each charged with obstructing a police officer and assault a police officer.
Both women and the man were due to appear in Karratha Magistrates Court on Wednesday earlier this week, but WA Police has not clarified the outcome of those proceedings.
The police statement also recorded another 31-year-old woman at the scene reported chest pain and was taken to Karratha Health Campus, where she was assessed and released.
“The West Australian Police Force utilises a range of less lethal tactical options to support officers in resolving incidents safely while minimising harm,” the statement reads.
“Police are trained to apply the minimum force necessary and to continually reassess and de-escalate where possible.
“Any use of force must be justified, proportionate and necessary in the circumstances, and is subject to mandatory reporting and review.”
Mr Rickards has also called on the WA Police Commissioner to consider a formal role for Pilbara Elders and Aboriginal organisations in preparing officers for regional placements.
RICKARDS’ MESSAGE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
But he also directed a strong message towards young Aboriginal people, saying their actions could have consequences for Elders who have spent their lives protecting younger generations.
“To our young people. snap out of it now, because it’s the old people who suffer,” Mr Rickards said.
“They’ve already suffered a hard life. We’re meant to be protecting them, not having our old people continually protecting us.”