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Senior police have fended off accusations that officers were heavy handed during the arrest of a woman at Sydney’s Kings Cross.
Three men and the woman have been charged over the alleged assault of a taxi driver and female police officer on Bayswater Road, Kings Cross at 1:45am (AEDT) on Wednesday.
According to police the group had started arguing with the driver over a service charge on the meter and got out of the vehicle.
When the taxi driver got out too, he was allegedly punched by one of the men.
The driver flagged down a passing police car and officers said the group then became aggressive towards them.
A video of the arrest was filmed on a mobile phone and widely shared on social media.
It shows two female police officers trying to arrest a struggling woman.
The woman is hit repeatedly with a police baton and voices can be heard shouting “let her go” and “she’s not resisting arrest”.
Arrests can get ‘physical’
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said he was made aware of the incident this morning.
“I understand that there was an assault involved and the police were called there,” he said.
“It was on the basis that somebody had been assaulted.
“There was obviously the need for the police to arrest those that were involved.
“One of my officers has been assaulted, I think the [alleged] offender has been charged, there are a number that are before the courts.
“We’re going to have to let the courts sort that out but at this stage from my perspective we’re better off to let the courts do what they have to do.”
Commissioner Scipione said while he had not yet seen the footage, generally speaking things could get physical during an arrest.
“But having said that, let’s face it, police that are involved in making arrests where somebody’s been assaulted, often they are very heated and you can be sure that from time to time they get very physical,” he said.
“If there has been an overuse of force you can be sure the courts will take that into consideration. They’ll examine it.”
He said it was too early to say if police would launch their own investigation into the incident.
“Let’s keep this in perspective. This is before the courts and the courts will be making a decision and I’m sure that if there’s a complaint that’s been made we’ll investigate it.”
The three men and woman have been charged with a range of offences including assaulting a police officer, assault, affray and resisting arrest.
They have been granted bail and will face court on January 6.
olddogthoughts 