Shocking footage shows a 16-year-old boy being pinned to the ground by police, as other officers pepper sprayed bystanders.
The video, filmed by the boy’s mother, shows police attempting to pin him to the ground as he struggled to get away and yelled at the men.
Officers are seen grabbing at his arms to restrict his movement as a large group watching on scream and throw things towards the police.
A spokesman from NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia officers were called to Tomerong Street in Huskisson, on NSW’s south coast, to intervene in ‘a number of altercations involving youths’.
Police were filmed arresting a 16-year-old boy at Huskisson Carnival on Saturday evening. His mother, who filmed the event, says officers used too much force on her son, who she claims did nothing wrong
‘Officers from Shoalhaven Local Area Command attended and dispersed the large crowd,’ he said.
‘As police were attempting to quell the disturbance, a 16-year-old boy allegedly attempted to head butt an officer, and as a result he was arrested.
‘A 14-year-old boy then threw a can of drink striking an officer in the head. At the same location, but in an unrelated incident, a 15-year-old girl kicked another officer in the stomach.
‘All were arrested and taken to Nowra Police Station. All three will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act for assault police and other offences relating to this incident.’
The mother of the young boy arrested alleged in a Facebook post her son was arrested ‘for being at the wrong place at Huskisson Carnival’.
‘He was simply standing with his mates, this footage shows the absolute disgusting actions of husky [sic] police,’ she wrote in the post, which accompanied two videos of her son’s arrest.
‘What it doesn’t show is at the start he turned to walk away only to be king hit to the ground and pepper sprayed.’
In the video, she is heard screaming: ‘You’re hurting his neck!’. The woman further alleges police punched her son in the jaw.
Five youths were arrested on Saturday at the carnival, but were released without charge.
The video, which was shared to social media provoked a mixed response, with some claiming the boy was resisting arrest and others agreeing with the mother and saying the arrest was too forceful
Social media users who claimed to be present portrayed a different side of the story, alleging groups of kids were ‘throwing bottles and rocks at families using rides’, and also at the operators.
Many pointed out the video does not show the start of the police response, or what caused it, and questioned why officers would need to use any force if the young boy hadn’t done anything wrong.
Others suggested the actions of police were racially motivated and labelled it ‘a gross misuse of power and force’.
Social media users claimed children were throwing rocks and bottles at families using rides and ride operators on the night