Police reviewing 'shocking' tasering of woman at Canberra bus stop

Warning: This story contains footage that some readers may find distressing.

ACT Policing is reviewing a case in which officers tasered an Aboriginal woman with an intellectual impairment at a Canberra bus stop.

The woman is suing police over the interaction at Deakin in January, which was sparked by a report from a member of the public that she had a knife.

Body-worn camera footage, released to the ABC this week, shows her pleading with officers not to taser her and telling them she had not done anything wrong.

The woman was pulled to the ground, tasered in the back, handcuffed and put headfirst into the back of a police van.

In September, Special Magistrate Sean Richter criticised the conduct of police as "unwarranted and heavy-handed".

"I find it amazing that in this day and age the police reacted in the way that they did,"

he said.

A subsequent search of the woman's bag revealed she had two pairs of scissors, not a knife.

Deputy Chief Police Officer Richard Chin told 666 ABC Radio Canberra a review of the case was now underway.

"The comments of the magistrate certainly brought that to light for us to have a look at that issue," he said.

He said the officers involved were still on duty.

"I think we need to look into the circumstances in detail and look at the context as well, and we'll determine what happens from there,"

he said.

The incident has been condemned by First Nations leaders, with the Aboriginal Legal Service describing the footage as "shocking, but … something the public needs to see".

Assistant Commissioner Chin acknowledged the body-worn camera footage could be concerning for viewers.

"Policing … can result in difficult and confronting environments, and all kinds of incidents that we deal with can be quite difficult to watch and see and experience,"

he said.

"We want the best possible relations we can have with our First Nations community here in the ACT.

"We note the comments of the Special Magistrate ... weren't particularly positive in that regard.

"We'll certainly take that on board and have a look at how that fits into the context of the circumstances."

'It wasn't about race': AFP Association president

Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana has defended the officers' conduct.

"To me it was very clear that she struck out at police officers first," Mr Caruana said.

"It wasn't about race, it wasn't about gender or anything like that.

"The information was that this person was carrying a knife, so police had to act decisively to make sure that the community was safe."

By the time the woman was sentenced in September, all but one of the charges against her — possessing a knife without a reasonable excuse — had been withdrawn.

Her subsequent lawsuit accuses police of assault and battery, breaching her human rights, and misfeasance in public office.