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Magistrate criticises ACT police Tasering of disabled Aboriginal woman

Guardian Australia's bodycam report shows the arrest in Canberra and details a civil claim, with police declining further comment while it proceeds.

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Guardian Australia Story of November 14, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of Guardian Australia's most watched videos since yesterday, with 36,509 views.

ACT police criticised for Tasering disabled woman

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Several officers restrain Emma on the ground before one presses a Taser against her back and deploys it. The bodycam footage, published by Guardian Australia, is at the centre of a report on an arrest a magistrate criticised as "exceedingly heavy-handed".

Reporter Nino Bucci says officers approached Emma at a Canberra bus stop after reports of a knife, but found two pairs of scissors in her backpack. Emma is an Aboriginal woman with an intellectual disability; her lawyers requested that her full name be withheld.

The footage also shows an officer pointing pepper spray at her while she is on the ground. "Please don't hurt me," Emma says during the arrest.

According to Guardian Australia, special magistrate Sean Richter criticised the officers' conduct at a September hearing and agreed that they knew Emma and her vulnerabilities before arresting her. The arrest took place in January, and the court released the hearing transcript to the newspaper in October.

Bucci reports that most charges were dropped. Emma pleaded guilty to possessing scissors without a reasonable excuse, and her lawyer filed a civil suit against the officers.

ACT Policing, the Australian Federal Police branch responsible for policing the Australian Capital Territory, said it noted Richter's comments. It said an associated civil claim was under way and that further comment would not be appropriate.

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