Internal affairs officers in Geraldton within hours of probe launched into claims police pushed elder

Internal affairs officers from Perth were en route to Geraldton within hours of an incident in which the foster mother of Yamatji woman JC, who was fatally shot by police, was allegedly pushed by an officer during an arrest. JC’s foster mother and Yamatji elder Anne Jones joined Mid West-Gascoyne police supt Steve Post on Friday to plead for calm after the altercation. Ms Jones said she was pushed by an officer and lost her footing, hitting her head in the altercation during the arrest of her 19-year-old grandson on Friday morning. She sustained a head laceration and bruised tailbone in the incident. An internal affairs investigation was swiftly launched. “Investigators from the internal affairs unit were in Geraldton over the weekend conducting a thorough and independent investigation which is ongoing,” Supt Post said. Police were called to an address on Bogle Way in Spalding about 6.30am on Friday, over reports people were fighting and using poles as weapons. “They were pushing his head into the ground, the concrete floor,” Ms Jones, 62, said on Friday in reference to the arrest. The incident coincided with a coronial inquest in Geraldton investigating the circumstances of JC’s death in September 2019. Footage shows multiple officers trying to get the arrested teenager into a police vehicle, while Ms Jones is heard confronting them in a heated exchange. “I’m disappointed by what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard but I preface there is an investigation that will get to the bottom of this and will determine the appropriate action,” Supt Post said. “I absolutely wish that this had not happened to Anne particularly this morning. The timing could not be worse. We don’t choose these things to happen — they happen, and we need to deal with the fallout of that.” Supt Post said the internal probe might take “weeks or months”. The officer who allegedly pushed Ms Jones had been placed on administrative duties. After Supt Post and Ms Jones called for calm, little unrest was reported to police over the weekend.