One furious parent captured the moment a group of children were left stranded at the poolside with towels to their waists after being ordered to leave by police – who turned up to the New South Wales leisure centre
A local pool in Australia sparked outrage after a parent claimed it kicked “every Black kid” out of the pool over “a few boys not listening” – with police called to the premises.
The furious dad captured the moment a group of children were left stranded at the poolside with towels to their waists after being ordered to leave. Thomas Davis was at the Inverell Aquatic Centre, New South Wales, Australia, on Sunday when he spotted a police vehicle outside the centre and approached to see “what was going on”.
Filming the scene, Mr Davis said: “Look at this, guys gone and kicked out all the Black kids out of the pool here. Inverell pool at its finest, it just opened up and every black kid’s got to get out of the pool now. Look at them all, they got them all lined up out here and they all got to f*****g leave. Wow, look at that, all the white kids are allowed in the pool.” Police officers were seen standing at the end of the pool as the children were made to leave.
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A New South Wales Police spokesman said New England Police District officers were called to the centre on Evans Street at around 4pm to reports that staff were having difficulties with visitors who refused to leave. According to a spokesperson, roughly 20 adults and children were being unsafe, not following instructions and were rude to staff. The spokesperson said: “They had been asked to leave, however, were refusing. Police spoke to the group who continued to be hostile, yelled and filmed officers.”
The group were issued a move on direction which they complied with before being escorted off the premises. The aquatic centre later wrote on social media: “The safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all our guests and team members and we will provide further updates as soon as we are able.”
Belgravia Management, which manages the centre, said police were called because a group of youths refused to stop anti-social behaviour, news.com.au reports. A spokesman for the contractor said two adults were also “displaying anti-social behaviour” and were asked to leave.
“We want to be clear that at no stage were any patrons asked to leave unless they were directly involved in anti-social behaviour,” a Belgravia Leisure spokesman said. “We are concerned about the inaccuracies in a live video posted on social media, which falsely suggests otherwise.”
“Our commitment to inclusivity is demonstrated through our support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities nationwide via various initiatives, programs and services. We remain dedicated to ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all.”
Inverell Shire Mayor Kate Dight acknowledged centre managers had asked several people to leave because “their actions were threatening the safety and wellbeing of other users”, and said the council supported these actions to ensure the safety of visitors and staff at the pool.
