WA officer faces calls to stand down over knee-press on Aboriginal boy
Constable Lachlan Costello allegedly held his knee on an Aboriginal boy's back for about 30 seconds. The child begged for his life.
A Geraldton police officer has faced calls to be stood down. Allegations of excessive force against an Aboriginal boy emerged during a parliamentary inquiry.
Body-worn footage showed Constable Lachlan Costello pressing his knee into the child's back for about half a minute in early 2025. The boy cried out in pain and pleaded: 'Tiny, you're going to kill me bro.
I can't breathe.' In a separate 2024 incident, the same officer wore a badge with an obscene phrase on his uniform while arresting a 16-year-old Aboriginal teenager.
WA Police said the badge was an isolated incident and that Costello was sanctioned and educated. Peter Collins is the chief executive of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA.
He told a parliamentary committee the conduct amounted to assault. Greens leader Brad Pettitt called the incidents unthinkable.
He said any officer wearing such material should be stood down immediately and investigated.
- About 30 seconds
- Duration of knee-press
- 2024
- Badge incident year
- Aboriginal Legal Service of WA
- Reporting agency
Why it mattersThe allegations raise serious questions about police conduct and systemic racism. This concerns the policing of Aboriginal children in Western Australia.
AustraliaFirst Nations children in WA are locked up at 25 times the rate of non-Indigenous children; these incidents highlight ongoing concerns about how Aboriginal young people are treated by police.
Corroborated byThe Sydney Morning Herald·The Age
