Warning: this story contains the name and image of an Aboriginal person who has died.
Police are investigating an officer’s altercation with a Yamatji Elder amid heightened community tensions over an inquest.
An internal inquiry has been launched into the incident involving Anne Jones, the foster mother of Yamatji woman JC,
Ms Jones, 62, suffered a wound to her head after she was knocked to the ground on Friday morning while filming the arrest of her 18-year-old grandson in the town of Geraldton in WA’s Mid West.
The incident took place as officers attempted to place the man, who they alleged was non-compliant, inside a police vehicle.
Footage shows Ms Jones urging police to let him into the vehicle before an officer yells: “That’s enough. Stay back”.
Ms Jones can be seen falling to the ground, prompting screaming and yelling from onlookers.
She was earlier told by an officer that she could film police detaining her grandson as long as she stayed back.
WA Police said officers had arrested the 18-year-old on suspicion of being involved in a disturbance in the Geraldton suburb of Spalding, where there had been reports of people armed with weapons.
Superintendent Steve Post said he had viewed the footage of Ms Jones’ injury and was disappointed with what he had seen and heard.
“We are taking this incident very seriously, and there will be an independent investigation into the events leading up to and including the incident involving Anne,” he said.
“I want to thank Anne, her family and supporters for their calm approach, and I ask the wider community to follow their lead and remain calm while the investigation takes place.”
Supt Post described Ms Jones as a much-loved and respected elder of the Geraldton community and met with her to apologise on behalf of WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch.
Ms Jones fronted a press conference with the superintendent on Friday where she echoed his calls for calm.
WA Police’s internal affairs division has been tasked with probing the incident.
Ms Jones’ foster daughter, a 29-year-old woman known for cultural reasons as JC, was shot dead by then-First Class Constable Brent Wyndham in 2019 during a street confrontation in Geraldton.
He was acquitted of her murder in 2021 after telling a jury the mother-of-one had raised a knife and moved as if to lunge at him before he pulled the trigger.
A coronial inquest in Geraldton has been examining whether officers attempted to de-escalate the situation and heard evidence from Const Wyndham.
The inquest continues in Perth.
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