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Police Minister takes aim at parents of teenagers who ‘terrorised’ CBD and ‘attacked police officer’

Police Minister Paul Papalia has taken aim at the parents of a gang of teenagers who watched on as a 16-year-old boy allegedly attacked a police officer, saying they should be “deeply ashamed” of their children. In an attack condemned as “shocking” and “disgraceful”, the senior constable was conducting motorcycle patrols outside Optus Stadium on Saturday afternoon when he was allegedly set upon by the teen. Police say the officer had approached a boy over allegations he had been riding an illegal e-motorcycle on a shared footpath before he was repeatedly punched and kicked as he was surrounded by 30 juveniles. Disturbing footage shared online shows several teens — who are linked to a bicycle gang who have previously made headlines for terrorising the suburbs — also trying to pull the illegal bike away from the officer during the incident. The officer suffered cuts and bruising to his face and was taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for treatment. The 16-year-old accused attacker allegedly left the area on his e-motorcycle before he was taken into custody a short time later. He was charged with assaulting a public officer and is due to face Perth Children’s Court on January 22. Before the Optus Stadium incident, police also received several reports of “large groups of juveniles creating a disturbance riding bicycles, scooters and e-motorcycles” through Perth, Northbridge and Burswood. The West Australian understands that the teens were involved in a pre-arranged “ride-out” that started at Elizabeth Quay. Road Policing Command Inspector Steve Walters on Sunday said police were now combing through CCTV and social media to determine if any more charges should be laid. He said police were not ruling out that the organisers of the ride would be charged. “There were a group of youths, a large group estimated up to 60 of them, pretty much terrorising the CBD on bicycles, electronic bikes and electronic motorcycles,” Insp. Walters said. “We’ve had all sorts of allegations, from weaving in and out of traffic to damaging cars to possibly even assaulting other people. “We are actively pursuing every inquiry that we can to identify further offenders in this, and those who have done the wrong thing, be assured that we are coming after you and expect a knock on your door.” Insp. Walters said the officer who was assaulted had been discharged from hospital after getting stitches for injuries including cuts and bruises to his face. “He’s a tough fella, he’s got a couple of stitches so he’ll relax at home today and maybe tomorrow, and then he’ll be back on the job,” he said. Insp. Walters said that after reviewing body-worn camera and CCTV footage he stood by the officer’s actions and denied claims the juvenile was punched. “We will look at it from every angle,” he said. “I’m confident the officer has not attempted to strike anybody, if anything, he’s probably reached out to (make an) arrest. “When you’ve got young kids that are so willing to be so violent and show that real pack mentality to a police officer, you ought to wonder what’s going on (with their parents).” Police Minister Paul Papalia also took aim at the parents of the teens. “Attacking a police officer is disgraceful and the parents of these teenagers should be deeply ashamed,” he said. “We will not tolerate violence and those involved will be hit with the full force of the law.” The teens involved posted videos doing burnouts on their electric dirt bikes, taking up entire roads in Northbridge and giving a police officer the middle finger. Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas said the “shocking behaviour” had “no place in Perth”. “Those young people who are riding around in gangs, they think they’re having fun (but) what they’re actually doing is causing trouble,” he said. “They’re disrupting families and others getting about normal activities ... don’t do it if you want to come out and cause trouble, stay at home. “That’s where you belong, not on our streets, not causing trouble, and certainly not harming police officers.” It is understood one e-motorbike had been seized after the incident at Optus Stadium. A spokesman for Bike Life Australia — the group that helped promote the event — told The West Australian in an exclusive interview on Saturday that it had cancelled all future ride-outs in the wake of the attack. “I’d like to apologise for what has happened today and I would like to make one promise to that officer and his family that won’t let this ever happen again,” he said. “I will not host a single ride out or not promote a single event ever again until I know that it’s going to be safe. “It’s really sad to see something like that happen to a police officer because at the end of the day, he’s just doing this job. “I’m really feel sorry that that is had to happened to him.” The Bike Life spokesman said while the ride-out was initially supported by Bike Life Australia that is was organised by local Instagram page Perth Hittaz. “The big issue we have is people stick around after we leave, and then they cause trouble and then that’s when our name looks bad ... all we’re trying to do is make a good name for ourselves,” he said. “I’m just going to take the time to really think about what we can do to do a safer event in future.” In April, The West Australian followed some members of the Perth Bike Life community through Perth’s south for several hours where they were observed swerving between cars. It is believed one of the young men went through a red light during the same ride-out. And in June last year, officers were forced to call on the resources of a police helicopter to track the group on bikes, e-bikes and dirt bikes after being swamped by calls from alarmed members of the public in Ellenbrook. The group filmed their antics and posted a video online titled “GTA 5 in REAL LIFE ELLENBROOK TAKEOVER” — a reference to popular video game Grand Theft Auto. One Perth teen who is in the group told The West some of the youths who took part in the Ellenbrook incident were trying to escape dysfunctional families. “We use our bikes to control the wheelie, and that the way we ride. It’s very controlled,” he said. “We ride for a reason... (our saying is) ‘bikes up knives down’, and that’s to stop knife crime that is happening in Australia.” Insp. Walters did not confirm if police were actively monitoring the group’s social media accounts in the lead-up to Saturday’s incident. Anyone with information about the most recent incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

updatedPolice Minister takes aim at parents of teenagers who ‘terrorised’ CBD and ‘attacked police officer’

updated
Police Minister takes aim at parents of teenagers who ‘terrorised’ CBD and ‘attacked police officer’