The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission last month released its Operation Mantus report, which investigated allegations that New South Wales police officers used excessive force on arresting a 14-year-old First Nations boy, as well as clear issues around how attending officers set about interviewing him.
The sole NSW police watchdog found that the custody manager at the regional police station placed a phone call to the Aboriginal Legal Service about the boy, as per protocol, and an ALS lawyer then advised him of his right to silence, and told the manager that his client wanted to exercise this right.
Despite the teen's decision not to be interviewed, two officers conducted one later that morning: the 12th September 2022. And the LECC found evidence that he'd changed his mind regarding the interview unsatisfactory, and the transcript has him initially refusing to partake in it.
