Video evidence of alleged misconduct by Queensland Police destroyed by witness Joe Ritson

Updated

A key witness to an alleged unprovoked attack by Queensland Police on a man outside a Brisbane nightclub has destroyed the original video recording of the incident that he made, despite police making a public appeal for it.

Joe Ritson told the ABC he had "formatted" the mobile phone on which he filmed the incident and also deleted a file from his computer.

Mr Ritson filmed QPS officers appearing to strike a man outside the Beat Nightclub on Friday night. He then posted the video on YouTube, prompting widespread media coverage.

However, he later removed the clip from YouTube.

Edited parts of the video can still be viewed on several news websites, including ABC News Online.

Mr Ritson says he has discussed the incident with officers from the Ethical Standards Command (ESC) of Queensland Police, although he said he had not been formally interviewed.

He insists he did not delete the material under pressure from anyone.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Brisbane police officers under investigation after alleged attack (7pm TV News QLD)

"I have removed the original video from all of my personal storage," Mr Ritson said in a statement to the ABC.

"ESC have informed me that in doing so, I have not prevented them from investigating the incident.

"I would like to clarify that absolutely no pressure from anybody was placed on me to do this - it wasn't even suggested that I delete the footage - especially not by the ESC - who told me that it was mine to do with what I please.

"I will be assisting the ESC in their enquiries, and all the contact I have had with them so far has been voluntary. They have been extremely professional in their investigation."

The member of the public who appears in the video with the three officers has been reported as saying he wanted to press assault charges after seeing the footage.

Mr Ritson told the ABC he had found the furore generated by his video very stressful.

"I did not specifically intend for my comments to be interpreted as allegations of assault and/or brutality," he said in his statement.

On Saturday, Queensland Police called for "the person who took the video to contact the service and to provide the original video and any further information in relation to this incident".

Queensland's Police Union has said it has seen CCTV footage that supports the conduct of the three officers who appear in the video.

A QPS spokeswoman said: "The matter is still being investigated and being reviewed by Ethical Standards Command. There have been no charges."

Do you know more about this story? Contact ABC Investigations.

Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, police, brisbane-4000, qld, australia

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