WA’s top cop has apologised after it was revealed police mistakenly arrested a teenage cyclist who was hit by a car during a police pursuit.
The 17-year-old was struck and thrown from his bike on Wharf Street in Cannington last week while trying to cross an intersection.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch.Credit: Hamish Hastie
The international student, who underwent surgery, claimed police dragged him off the road and tried to arrest him before realising their mistake.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch, while speaking with media this morning, apologised to the boy.
“The first attending police officer removed the cyclist from near the vehicle because I think the vehicle was smoking,” he said.
“When other police arrived, the back-up unit, they thought the police officer was arresting that person and they starting to assist the first police officer with the arrest.
“Very soon after, the first police officer said, ‘No I’m not arresting this person, I’m helping this person’, so they immediately went after the offender and arrested the offender who was driving the car.
“I think we said sorry at the time, if not, from the Commissioner, we are sorry – in these dynamic situations we always do our very best.”