Two Victorian tourists were shocked when a Queensland police officer pulled them over and proceeded to pull a taser on them.
The couple are holidaying in the sunshine state and had only just touched down at Coolangatta airport when they were spotted at a red light by a pair of police officers. Citing the state's recently introduced 'bikie laws', the officers were questioning the passenger after they noticed an incriminating tattoo on his neck.
The pair recorded the encounter on a phone, which one of the officers soon demanded they hand over. At this point, the officer pulled her taser on the man, and the video stops playing. The officers later instructed the pair to delete video.
The deleted video was recovered shortly after the incident and posted to Facebook, where it has been shared over 37,000 times by (mostly) outraged Australians.
Speaking to Brisbane newspaper The Courier Mail, inspector Shane Holmes was far from apologetic. “He wasn’t just a random Victorian tourist. He and his girlfriend were intercepted by two slightly built female officers who know from experience that bikies carry weapons.
“When this gentleman unexpectedly reached into the car, the officers immediately feared for their safety and drew the Taser as a precaution.
“It emerged he was retrieving his ID but the officers were not to know this and their actions were completely appropriate in the circumstances.
“The incident has been investigated and the officers were deemed to have acted lawfully and reasonably.”
