http://www.smh.com.au/news/0003/21/national/national01.html Racist remarks by police caught on video By LINDA DOHERTY Four police officers face disciplinary action after being caught on their own surveillance cameras making racist remarks to Australian residents of Arabic appearance. The Bankstown-based male officers were undertaking video surveillance in a car in Bankstown late last year when they made the comments to a group of people on the street, but the tape only came to light during the investigation of a civilian's complaint to police. Mr Jeff Jarratt, the Police Deputy Commissioner (field operations), refused to reveal the remarks yesterday but said they were "racially derogative". "I wouldn't want to repeat them [the comments] because I find them derogatory and for me to repeat them would be simply compounding an already unsatisfactory situation," Mr Jarratt said. "They're Australians, I believe, who feature on the video." The four officers - senior constables and constables - had "expressed remorse" for their actions to Police Internal Affairs investigators. Mr Jarratt said the officers had breached the Police Service Code of Conduct and he was awaiting legal advice on possible breaches of legislation such as the Anti-Discrimination Act before deciding on disciplinary action. He confirmed they could face formal proceedings, including suspension and dismissal. "They're experienced officers and frankly should have known better," Mr Jarratt said. "During the interview with Internal Affairs they've expressed remorse for the comments they've made. That does not lessen their unacceptable nature but it shows that the officers are perhaps in the process of learning from mistakes they've made." The video was discovered when a man charged with an unrelated criminal offence complained to police about the derogatory remarks. During the legal discovery process, police handed a copy to the man's lawyer. Mr Jarratt said he had now asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to withdraw the charges against the man, who was not a subject of the remarks. Bankstown and other suburbs in Sydney's south-west have witnessed a wave of violent crime in recent months, including 40 shootings, an attempt to ram an ambulance, and firings at police and a television cameraman. Mr Jarratt yesterday defended the Police Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan, who last month blamed rival Lebanese gangs for the violence and called on the Lebanese community to help police catch the "evil gun-toting criminals". "The Commissioner has made very strong his view that we are about working with the community in partnership to target criminals who make this an unpleasant place to live," he said. A flood of new allegations about police conduct in the Bankstown area last week forced the Police Integrity Commission to defer a inquiry into the conduct of some officers in the patrol. The Police Integrity Commissioner, Mr Paul Urquhart, said the planned three-day inquiry had been deferred because of "additional material". It is understood the PIC advertised in a local newspaper, which resulted in the wide response about alleged police misconduct. ---------------------------------- http://www.smh.com.au/news/0003/21/national/national11.html Road protest video to Ryan A videotape allegedly showing police punching people in the head and charging on horses at a weekend protest was yesterday handed to the Police Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan. Two officers were taken to hospital for treatment and another had his nose broken after the clash with about 3,000 road protesters on Saturday night near the Eastern Distributor. Superintendent Donald Graham said the problems escalated when about 60 protesters from Reclaim the Streets - an organisation against car culture - rushed onto the distributor, blocking traffic at one of the northern tollgates. In a letter to Mr Ryan, Greens MP Ms Lee Rhiannon said she had also seen police using capsicum spray and pushing people off and over cement barricades. She said the scenes had been captured on video. AAP -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
