Victorian police officer charged after allegedly punching and kicking handcuffed teenager during arrest

A Victorian detective senior constable has been charged with common assault after allegedly punching and kicking a handcuffed teenager multiple times during an arrest in Ballarat last October, according to the state's corruption watchdog, Ibac. The teenager was under 18 years old at the time and was compliant when the alleged assault occurred.

The detective senior constable is due to face court in Ballarat on October 26. This is the fourth time in five weeks that Ibac has charged a Victorian police officer with assault, representing a significant increase from previous years. According to Ibac, only one police officer was charged with assault in 2025, the watchdog's first full year of operation for its focused police complaints team.

Ibac's statement said the detective senior constable "unlawfully punched and kicked the teenager multiple times, following the teen's arrest, while they were handcuffed and compliant." The watchdog's focused police complaints team assesses and investigates serious allegations of Victoria Police misconduct against people from communities at a higher risk of experiencing police misconduct, including children.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Guardian Australia, The Guardian — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.