The teenager hit by a stolen car during a chase has accepted an apology from WA’s top cop after police mistakenly tried to arrest him last week as he lay face down and barely conscious.
On Tuesday, police searched Wharf Street in Cannington after spotting a suspected stolen blue Skoda hatchback on the Albany Highway at around 12.30pm.
After the teenager was thrown into the air by the car, the vehicle crashed into a nearby house – the cyclist was left injured and “barely conscious” near the Skoda.
As The West Australian first revealed, at least one police officer attempted to arrest the 17-year-old while the driver of the Skoda fled the scene of the accident.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said he was sorry for the incident during the “dynamic situation”.
“The first police officer to arrive removed the cyclist from the vicinity of the vehicle because I believe the vehicle was smoking,” he said.
“When the other officers, the backup unit, arrived, they thought the officer was going to arrest this person and began to assist the first officer in making the arrest.
“Shortly afterward, the first police officer said, ‘No, I’m not arresting this person, I’m helping this person,’ so they immediately chased the perpetrator and arrested the perpetrator who was driving the car.
“I think we apologized at the time. If not, then on behalf of the Commissioner: we are sorry. In these dynamic situations we always do our best.”
The young teenager, who remains in hospital, said he accepted Mr Blanch’s apology on Wednesday afternoon.
“I accept the apology due to a misunderstanding at the time of the incident,” he said.
The boy suffered a broken collarbone and a lower leg injury and will be confined to a wheelchair for several months to recover.
In an earlier statement to The West, Western Australia Police said they considered the officer’s actions to be “appropriate, understandable and justifiable” after reviewing bodycam footage of the incident.
“In addition, the conduct of the first officer in assisting the cyclist was commendable,” said a spokesman.
The teenager says his memory is hazy, but he can remember police yelling at him to “get on the ground” after his trip to print pictures for a college assignment went wrong.
“Because I have a broken collarbone, I cannot walk with crutches. I also have a broken knee, so I cannot walk,” he said.
“(The pain) is uncomfortable, but I’ll cope with it. “All the doctors and nurses (at the RPH) were good; they were all very nice.”
The 17-year-old says he moved from Thailand to Perth in February to study animation and game design at Curtin University.
“The car approached the T-junction and (tried to) make a sharp turn… it didn’t turn properly and collided with me head-on,” he recalled.
“I flew into the air because if I had been under the car, I probably would have been dead.
“I was alone on the bike, the car hit me and I think the policeman confused me with the driver.
“I remember the police dragging me out and trying to arrest me… but they realized I wasn’t the right person.”
The alleged driver, 24, appeared in Perth Local Court on Wednesday last week after being charged with a series of charges including dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm, reckless driving in pursuit, theft and driving without a licence.
The court was subsequently informed that he had already been released on bail for a number of other offences.