‘Thought he’d George Floyd me’: Shocking moment railway cops tear a BLIND man’s cane from his hands, tackle him to the ground and fire pepper-spray in his face
- A blind man was tackled to the ground by transit officers at a Perth train station
- ‘Confronting’ footage shows Awata Croft, 49 being wrestled to the ground
- Transperth confirmed they pepper-sprayed him but it was justified
Shocking footage captures the moment a blind man was pepper-sprayed and tackled to the ground after having his white cane ripped from his hand.
Two transit officers were filmed wrestling Awata Croft, 49 after a heated argument at Warwick train station in Perth on Sunday afternoon.
The 49-year old said he thought was going to die during the ordeal.
‘I’m just thinking this guy is an absolute redneck, he’s gonna George Floyd me, you know, that’s all I’m thinking,’ Mr Croft told the West Australian.
‘I put my chin down and bit away out of protection, out of protection for myself, I’m an absolute fight or flight [mode] and I couldn’t, I couldn’t fly and I couldn’t get away.’
The transit officers are seeing following Mr Croft as he walks away from the station as he screams at them and lashes out with his walking stick
Mr Croft claims the scuffle began when he was spotted smoking a cigarette outside the station.
He said he overheard someone telling him to ‘butt it out’ but they did not identify themselves as transport officers.
The footage then began, showing transport officers screaming at Mr Croft, telling him he is under arrest for disorderly behaviour.
He was seen shielding his face as he walked away, but the officers followed him.
Mr Croft lashed out with the walking stick, swore at them and demanded they leave him alone.
He was then restrained with his arms behind his back as they brought him to the ground while a man filming pleaded for a bystander to call police.
His cane was snapped during the struggle.
Transperth refused to answer Daily Mail Australia’s questions on Tuesday night.
But a spokesperson told The West the situation began before the footage started and officers were responding to reports of a disturbance on a Joondalup train.
The footage ends with Mr Croft lying on the ground moaning after being pepper sprayed and tackled by the arresting transport officers
The transport authority said they were contacted about a man who was yelling and swearing, which frightened other passengers.
‘We do not tolerate antisocial behaviour on our network,’ the spokesperson said.
Acting Transport Minister Sue Ellery described the footage as ‘confronting’.
‘Any use of force by Transit officers is regrettable and should be a last resort,’ she said.
The Department of Transport is investigating the incident.