‘Staggering’: watchdog condemns police after Indigenous teenager on bus wrongfully arrested –then searched

Ombudsman Iain Anderson says he is concerned police had no clearly understood definition of racial profiling'

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The commonwealth and ACT ombudsman has criticised the Australian federal police for failing to clearly define racial profiling" after police in Canberra pulled guns on an Indigenous teenager who they mistook for a suspect in an aggravated burglary.

The scathing investigation, released on Tuesday, made eight recommendations to the Australian federal police (AFP) and ACT Policing after investigating the November 2025 incident. ACT Policing sits under the AFP as the community policing arm.