A special joint investigation by 60 Minutes and The Age is set to expose shocking new cases of alleged brutality at the hands of Australian police officers.

Reporting this Sunday on 60 Minutes, investigative journalist Nick McKenzie speaks with multiple victims who have ended up bloodied and broken - even paralysed - after being arrested or raided, often for crimes they didn't commit.

While the physical and psychological damage for these victims runs deep, each is determined to speak out on the broken police oversight system they believe needs to be fixed.

Just five months ago, Nik Dimopolous was woken in the middle of the night by what he thought was a home invasion. The intruders were in fact Victorian police officers who had stormed into the wrong home while searching for an armed offender at large.

© 60 Minutes Nik Dimopolous was injured in a struggle with Victorian Police during a nighttime raid of his home.

© 60 Minutes The scan showing Mr Dimopolous's dislocated shoulder and shattered bones resulting from the tussle.

In a violent struggle, Mr Dimopolous' shoulder was torn clean from the socket and his bones were shattered. His horrific injury is one of the worst his orthopaedic surgeon has ever seen, and the damage is permanent – resulting in the loss of movement to his right arm.

"I just can't help thinking, how did this happened?," he tells reporter Nick McKenzie.

But as 60 Minutes reveals, Mr Dimopoplus is one of the lucky ones when it comes to alleged police misconduct.

In November 2017, Chris Karadaglis was detained after his neighbour filed a noise complaint to police. Mr Karadalgis admits he'd been drinking when police arrived and, at first, he turned down his stereo but, as officers walked back to their car, he turned the volume back up again.

"I just remember being dragged out of my flat, and being dragged along the lawn, and being put in a headlock, and having my neck snapped," he tells Nick McKenzie.

© 60 Minutes Chris Karadaglis claims police dragged him out of his flat and put him in a headlock after he disobeyed their directions over a noise complaint.

© 60 Minutes Mr Karadaglis with his sister. He has been left a quadriplegic in need of constant care.

Mr Karadaglis' neck was broken. When he finally woke up in hospital he was a quadriplegic in need of 24/7 support.

It's been almost two years since the incident and Mr Karadaglis tells 60 Minutes he hasn't heard from police or received an apology.

Also speaking with Nick McKenzie – and identifying himself publicly for the very first time – is a Melbourne disability pensioner whose shocking treatment by Victorian Police was captured on CCTV in September 2017.

Police were asked to do a welfare check on the man by his psychologist, who just wanted to make sure he was okay. He had not committed any crime.

© Supplied One of the police officers filmed the incident on his mobile phone.

What happened when police arrived is disputed, however, CCTV captured the man being capsicum sprayed, dragged from his home, beaten and then hosed off on his front lawn.

"It's very humiliating. You know, the fear of dying, choking… but the humiliation was the worst," he tells Nick McKenzie.

While one of the police officers filmed the humiliating attack on his phone, not a single person reported what happened that day.

This Sunday, investigative journalist Nick McKenzie reveals not only shocking cases of police use of force, but a culture of cover ups and a flawed police complaint system that means some victims may never see justice.



