Teen fined for biting cop during strip search

A Geraldton teenager who bit a police officer during a strip search has been handed a four-month juvenile good behaviour bond and a substantial fine over the incident. The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to his age, had been arrested and brought to Geraldton Police Station on April 9 regarding separate legal issues when he was asked to strip down and allow police to search him. The youth refused to remove his clothing and when asked again by police to comply, he continued to object. After multiple attempts to try to get the boy to comply, police began to subdue the youth and forcibly strip search him. During the struggle, multiple officers had the boy pinned down on his stomach and, while they attempted to handcuff him, the youth leaned his head up and bit the left forearm of one of the officers. Kate Fry, the lawyer who represented the boy, said the experience left the teenager “feeling very violated” and this was why he lashed out and ended up biting an officer. Prosecutor Senior Constable Dean Solman said the police were legally entitled to perform strip searches of suspects. “This is a part of the job where we get no satisfaction or enjoyment out of it,” he said. Magistrate Brionie Ayling said while police were fully entitled to carry out the action, she sympathised with the teenager and commended him after he “accepted responsibility” for biting the police officer. The teenager said the only reason he bit into the officer was because he was under duress at the time when they tried to handcuff him, screaming “my wrist is about the snap”. The magistrate sentenced the teenager to a four-month juvenile good behaviour bond and a $300 fine for assaulting a public officer.