>
Controversial Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe went on a rampage on Twitter as she viewed confrontational footage of Aboriginal children in custody.
The CCTV footage emerged of guards at Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Center in Western Australia allegedly using excessive force against young detainees.
Ten officers are under investigation and one charged with assault after footage showed prisoners being repressed with a dangerous restraint banned by any police force across Australia.
Senator Thorpe claimed the video was “evidence of war and genocide” against Indigenous people in Australia.
Controversial Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe goes on Twitter as she views confronting footage of Aboriginal children in custody
The outspoken MP also posted a photo of her TV screen showing WA Correctional Services Minister Bill Johnston, only to delete it about 11 hours later.
‘Awful. This is the face of systemic racism,” she wrote alongside it, adding a puke emoticon.
Senator Thorpe became even more furious when she watched the ABC Four corners report in the Banksia Hill, broadcast on Monday night.
“What you saw tonight at 4 Corners is evidence of the ongoing WAR and genocide against First Nations people in this country. Wake up Oz!’ she wrote.
Her third tweet read, “Another damn day at the colony! STOP the WAR against our babies “Australia”‘
She ended her outburst with, “F**k racism in this country. It’s killing us. Literal!!!!!’
After calming down overnight, Senator Thorpe fired off another series of tweets Tuesday morning with a more considered response.
“The continuation of the oldest living culture in the world is the birthright of our children and they are the target of aggressive police action and violent prisons,” she wrote.
“Raising the age of legal responsibility to at least 14 is a matter of national urgency.”
Senator Thorpe posted a photo of her TV screen showing WA Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston, only to delete it about 11 hours later
Senator Thorpe then referred to an article critical of the Northern Territory Government’s juvenile delinquency plan.
“These governments are not giving our children a chance. They just want to hit their quota and lock up our babies,” she wrote.
Our babies don’t stand a chance in this system. This is genocide. This is the ‘Australian’ story.’
The confronting images led to calls for a royal commission on WA’s youth justice system, and Prime Minister Mark McGowan announced crisis talks on Monday to address the issue.
Ten officers at the center are under investigation for allegedly using excessive force against the young inmates, the state’s Justice Department has confirmed.
Several inmates in what is the state’s only juvenile detention center have spoken out about their alleged treatment by guards and being pushed to the ground a common restraining move that carries a risk of suffocation or death.
Known as the hogtie or folding technique, a youngster’s arms and legs are pressed against their head with guards using their body weight to restrain them.
Disturbing images have surfaced of the hogtie fixation method used by prison guards at the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Center
Footage of a disturbing incident shows a 14-year-old native prisoner being dragged back to his cell with his hands cuffed behind his back.
An officer is seen twisting his legs into a foursome before sitting on top of him.
The guard is assisted by two colleagues in restraining the prisoner, while two more watch from the doorway.
“There’s a… man standing on your feet, and they’re trying to say, ‘Relax and it won’t hurt,'” the prisoner told the program.
“They go so far, you feel your muscles burn and hurt.”
Bodycam footage from a separate incident shows five officers using the same technique to restrain a prisoner on his bed shortly after he mopped a guard.
Four staffers press on his arms and back while another sits on his legs.
‘Stop resisting!’ asked an officer
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe assholes,” you hear the frightened prisoner scream.
He repeatedly begs the guards to relieve the pressure.
“You can’t do my leg,” he yells.
“Stop resisting and I’ll ease it,” a female guard replies.
In this confrontational bodycam footage broadcast by Four Corners, four guards press on the inmate’s arms and back while another sits on his legs
Another prisoner described the technique as ‘being folded like a pram’.
“They’d let your hands touch your head and they’ll put your legs there too. They hit your back, your spine, and they push until you scream,” he said.
The department added that the freedom-restricting measure “is only allowed for officers to use as a last resort, in the most extreme circumstances, for the shortest possible time, when there is a security risk to staff and other detainees.”
Mr McGowan and his government will hold crisis talks after the shocking footage to address the “complex” issue.
“Pragmatic and feasible responses will always be the focus, one that protects the wider WA community from violence, but also provides an avenue for serious young offenders to break out of the cycle of recidivism,” his statement read.
“But whatever happens, we have to protect the public in what we do.”
Mr Johnston was shocked by the allegations and said he had seen no evidence of criminal behavior among youth counselors.
“If someone has acted illegally, it must be investigated and criminal law applied,” he said.
Detainees at the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Center in Western Australia (pictured) have spoken out about their alleged treatment
The WA government has announced crisis talks to address the alleged treatment of detainees at the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Center (pictured)
Banskia Hill is WA’s only facility housing more than 600 juvenile offenders, ages 10–17.
Inmates have individual case management plans and access to various activities and educational programs to get their lives back on track when released.
A group of inmates were recently transferred to an adult prison after officers alleged that inmates destroyed property, escaped their cells, attacked staff and injured themselves.
Footage of the alleged treatment of the prisoners by guards comes six years after a Northern Territory Royal Commission called for the infamous Don Dale Youth Detention Center to be closed.
Footage of juvenile detainees being tear gassed, handcuffed, hooded, taunted by prison guards and tied to restraints emerged from the Alice Springs facility in 2015.
If you or someone you know needs support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.