A scathing report by the Commonwealth and ACT Ombudsman criticised the Australian Federal Police for failing to clearly define racial profiling following the November 2025 arrest of the Aboriginal teen, after officers mistook him for a burglary suspect.
Tuesday's report found police inappropriately and unlawfully searched the teen, failing in their duty to a young Aboriginal person traumatised by their actions.
On November 11 last year, the 17-year-old boarded a bus at Woden and took a seat at the back.
The bus left the interchange with more than 20 passengers on board, including other teenagers.
A few minutes later, three police officers stopped the bus and went aboard with guns drawn.
Once off the bus, the boy was brought to the ground, handcuffed and arrested, before police realised they had made a mistake and that he was not the person they were looking for.
The teenager was released and apologised to. However, police still searched him before putting him back on the bus.
AFP said their officers were called to the area following an aggravated burglary at Westfield Woden and a number of attempted carjackings.
"The AFP can confirm that there was no evidence to suggest race or other discriminatory factors influenced interactions between police and the young person, or that excessive force was used during the arrest," AFP said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Maintaining professional standards is critical to the AFP's effectiveness and to sustaining the confidence of the Australian Government and the community."
Ombudsman Iain Anderson found there was a lack of communication between police officers about who had command, cumulative delays and misinformation, as well as missed opportunities for identification of the actual offender.
"I recognise that ACT Policing was responding to a fast-evolving incident requiring decisive action, but there are opportunities to improve ACT Policing's engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and their aftercare of innocent people who are caught up in their actions," he said.
"I hold concerns that the AFP had no clearly understood definition of 'racial profiling' and have recommended ACT Policing review its use of race as a proxy to describe a person's physical traits and adopt objective descriptors."
During the investigation, the Ombudsman's office met with the teenager and his family, reviewed footage and audio, interviewed experts, and examined relevant policies and training on use of force and engagement with youth and First Nations people.
14°C