Police union boss says there’s ‘a bit’ confronting footage of police at Malvern East park ‘doesn’t say’

The police union boss has responded to confronting footage of police throwing a teenage girl to the ground and pepper spraying a second teen in the face at a Malvern East park.

Footage of the incident aired on Nine News on Sunday night.

The footage shows a 15-year-old girl being grabbed by her hoodie and thrown to the ground by police, and her 16-year-old friend being pepper sprayed in the face.

But Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt says there’s more to the story than what’s shown in the video.

“Our members responded to a job there where they thought they were going to 60 to 80 youths … what they actually confronted was about 80 to 100 youths there,” he told Tony Jones, filling in for Neil Mitchell.

“What they saw very quickly was a male person stomping somebody on the ground. They were in a foot pursuit with that person, and in the course of bringing that person into custody … they have then been confronted, and have for some time, and sustained for many minutes into the lead up to that with resistance from others who were getting in their way.

“One of our members was struck twice prior to that incident occurring.

“When the police come to help somebody who is being stomped on the ground, they then can’t be frustrated by others who, for whatever reason – we don’t know – then feel the need to get in the face and strike the police.

“That’s the bit that footage perhaps doesn’t say.”

Press PLAY below to hear Wayne Gatt’s comments in full

Press PLAY below to see the footage