Indigenous Today host Brooke Boney blasts police over arrest of Aboriginal teen and compares it to the death of George Floyd - as she reveals how her family has suffered at the hands of racists
- Brooke Boney compared arrest of teenage boy to death of George Floyd
- She said her father was targeted a few years back because of his nationality
- A police officer was filmed throwing a young indigenous man to the ground
- Vision sparked outrage after death of George Floyd allegedly at hands of cop
- A white cop was filmed with his knees pressed against Floyd until he passed out
- The cop has since been arrested - but riots have been raging all over America
- Do you know more? Email: brittany.chain@mailonline.com
Brooke Boney has compared George Floyd's death to the treatment of an Aboriginal teenager who was thrown to the ground as he was arrested.
The indigenous Today Show host said the 'comparisons are obvious' between the incidents, before revealing her own experience with officers singling out her family.
On Tuesday, police revealed they had stood down the officer involved in the arrest after Daily Mail Australia published the confronting video.
An officer swept the 17-year-old's feet out from underneath him during the arrest, which took place in Surry Hills on Monday afternoon.
The teenager was thrown face-first into the footpath and claims to have suffered chipped teeth and bruising all over his body.
Footage shows the officer, who was patrolling in Surry Hills in Sydney at the time, swipe the feet from underneath the man during the arrest (left). While on the floor, the young man appeared to struggle to manoeuvre his arms behind his back and was wailing (right)
Brooke Boney shared a touching tribute to her mother on Mothers Day with this photograph of her as a child
'Just look at that video and look at the George Floyd video and tell me how they're different,' Boney said live on air on Wednesday morning.
'If that kid hits his head and dies, we're talking about the same thing... he could have died like George Floyd.'
Mr Floyd was arrested by white Minneapolis cops last Monday accused of using a forged bank note.
Video circulated of one of the officers, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck for eight minutes - even after he lost consciousness. Mr Floyd was later declared dead, and Chauvin charged with his murder.
Boney said the comparisons between the two arrests were obvious.
A 17-year-old boy suffered a chipped tooth and bruising all over his body after he was thrown to the ground by a police officer
The indigenous Today Show entertainment host said the 'comparisons are obvious', before revealing her own experience with police officers singling out her family
'He wasn't resisting arrest,' she said of the teen. 'He swore at the police officer. We don't condone what he said but he is not violent and he could die.
'It's the same thing. It's not necessary. That's just an example. That's one example that's in the last two days of what we see.'
The 33-year-old said just a few years ago, she was with her family at a game of football when police 'frog marched' her 72-year-old grandfather from the grounds.
'Every single one of us thought he was going to die, either of a heart attack or that they would do something to him,' she confessed.
'They said he was being drunk and disorderly. My grandfather doesn't drink. Tell me if that would happen to your grandfathers.
'It wouldn't,' she said.
Ali Mongta-Finn, the 17-year-old's sister, acknowledged her brother had made inappropriate comments to the officer but told Triple J Hack he shouldn't have been mistreated for being 'lippy'.
'When he came back home later that night, he was shaken up,' she said.
'He was very sore this morning and he was distraught.
'Teenagers, they're lippy, but you don't just abuse children because they're lippy.'
Following his arrest, the family claim he was taken to holding cells before being transferred to St Vincent's Hospital via ambulance, where he spent the night waiting for results from x-rays to his shoulder, knee and elbow.
The vision divided readers - some of whom said he should have been detained following the threats while others said the police officer was too harsh
Boney was not the first person to draw comparisons between the incident and Mr Floyd.
The vision sparked outrage, with commenters on the original post saying the incident was particularly unnerving as it follows the death of Mr Floyd.
Footage released on the eve of an Australian Black Lives Matter protest showed the officer, who was patrolling Surry Hills in Sydney's inner east about 5.30pm on Monday, swiping the boy's feet from underneath him during an arrest.
Moments earlier, the boy, who was in Eddie Ward Park with friends, had threatened to physically assault the officer.
'I'll crack you across the jaw, bro,' the teenager said.
At first, the officer appeared taken aback by the outburst, asking: 'What was that?'.
But he then approached the teenager - who was with friends at the time - and tried to handcuff him.
Officer Derek Chauvin (pictured) was identified as the officer pinning down George Floyd in video footage that was widely shared last week
A police officer was filmed throwing a young indigenous man to the ground after he was threatened
The person who filmed the altercation groaned under his breath as his friend was put in handcuffs and had his legs kicked out from underneath him, forcing him face-first into the footpath.
'What the f**k!' the man filming said.
'You just slammed him on his face,' two other voices added.
A female officer then pinned down the teenager's legs while the first officer adjusted the handcuffs behind his back.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller on Wednesday admitted there were 'other ways' the officer could have dealt with the matter, other than the leg sweep.
'This is a case of two things - is it reasonable for someone to swear and threaten a police officer? And then, is the force the officer used reasonable?' Mr Fuller told 2GB Radio.
'I don't know what happened before in terms of the lead-up but there was probably other ways the officer could have dealt with that matter, no doubt.
The footage emerged on the eve of a scheduled Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park, similar to the protests occurring in America following the death of George Floyd last week.
The teenager appeared to struggle to move his arms behind his back and was wailing as he lay on the ground.
'He has a bruised shoulder, cuts and grazing to his knee, face and elbow and chipped teeth,' a relative said
Harlem: Demonstrators participate in a solidarity rally for George Floyd on Saturday in New York
'He's in pain, bro. He's in pain,' the friend said. 'You just slammed him on the f**king face.'
Following his arrest, the teenager's family claim he was taken to holding cells before being transferred to St Vincent's Hospital via ambulance, where he spent the night waiting for results from x-rays of a shoulder, knee and elbow.
'He has a bruised shoulder, cuts and grazing to his knee, face and elbow, and chipped teeth,' the relative said.
'No charges have been laid... police state he will be charged at a later date.'
After Daily Mail Australia published the disturbing footage, police suspended the officer involved pending an investigation by officers from the Professional Standards Command.
Senior officers also held meetings with the community and local elders about the investigation.
Riots had raged across the United States for a week in protest at Mr Floyd's death, with participants setting fire to police cars and looting buildings.
A march planned at Sydney's Hyde Park on Tuesday evening was cancelled after people 'threatened to wreak havoc and protest against the event'. Pictured: Protestors are seen during the Invasion Day rally in Brisbane, January 26, 2020
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