An authorised public transport officer who used excessive force to restrain a 15-year-old girl by slamming her into the ground is still patrolling Melbourne's train network.
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Officers used excessive force on teenage girl
Victorian Ombudsman finds that ticket inspectors shown on CCTV tackling a teenage girl and slamming her into the ground in 2013 used excessive force in breach of the human rights charter.
The man was cleared by internal transport department investigations, but on Thursday the Victorian Ombudsman strongly criticised that decision, saying it was clear that the authorised officer has used excessive force and deprived the teen of her basic human rights.
Metro's total response yesterday was: "We acknowledge the findings handed down in the Victorian Ombudsman's report."
On July 31, 2013 an authorised officer attempted to arrest a 15-year old girl who was trying to evade a $2.50 fare at Flinders St Station during peak hour.
After she hit him in the face the man grabbed her by the lower body and slammed her onto her back onto the ground. For the next 8 1/2 minutes three men sat on top of her.
The girl's friend was also pinned against a fence by another officer, who pushed her head down, after she spat at him. The girls were under state care.
Charges were laid against the girls.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass' report said it was clear that training standards were inadequate and was troubled by the fact previous reports into authorised officers had not improved the situation.
Ms Glass has recommended that all training and recruitment be transferred to Public Transport Victoria and that training be reviewed. Metro employs authorised officers but their powers are given to them by the state.
Ms Glass also called for authorised officers to do more customer service training and to make that the emphasis of their training.
"Rather than more training in use of force, the focus should be on defusing and de-escalating conflict," Ms Glass found.
Officer training staff and police interviewed for the Ombudsman investigation said the force was excessive.
Despite this the department's own investigation found the officer acted reasonably and no actions was taken against the officer.
Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan backed the Ombudsman's findings and recommendations but would not be drawn on whether the officer in question should be sacked.
She labelled the incident "distressing" and has ordered an audit of previous recommendations made by the Ombudsman into authorised officer's behaviour.
Public Transport Victoria chief executive Mark Wild admitted the behaviour was unacceptable.
"Incidents like this shouldn't happen on the network," Mr Wild said.
PTV has accepted the recommendations.
The footage of two teenage girls being restrained grabbed the headlines in 2013, prompting a petition calling for action against the officer – the petition has now received 38,000 signatures.
In her interview with the Ombudsman, the girl described feeling like she was "a ball being tackled on the ground that had no feelings."
"I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I was screaming. I was frightened and it was a traumatic experience."
The girl said she felt ashamed in herself.
"They got away with it and I got in trouble."
The officer said he acted within guidelines and to protect himself. The man said he played rugby for years and had instinctively acted to protect himself.
The girl's friend, who tried to help her, was also restrained by another officer – his actions were deemed "rough" by the Ombudsman.
She had her head pushed down as she was restrained against a fence. She had spat at the officer.
Ms Glass said with all passengers carrying mobile phone cameras it was inevitable that this would not be the last highly publicised allegation of excessive force.
"Public Transport Victoria needs to investigate such incidents in a way that commands public confidence. This should include the use of an external agency to review serious incidents, so Victorians can be reassured that authorised officers reflect community standards in their dealings with the public," Ms Glass said.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Luba Grigorovitch said authorised officers did a really tough job, including being spat on, abused and assaulted every day.
The union wants annual refresher training for authorised officers and supports calls for more training.
"Anti-social behaviour is getting worse on Public Transport and the travelling public needs to be more respectful to our Authorised Officers."