A Gold Coast mother feels “humiliated” after being dragged out of her home by police in her underwear and arrested for an “overdue fuel payment”.
A Current Affair reports that Belinda Goodwin and her 12-year-old daughter Summer were at their home when police knocked at their door.
"So I opened the door and I was like, literally naked. And, they just said, 'Can you put something on? We're going to come and sit and talk to you'," Belinda said.
They informed the woman that she was under arrest “by virtue of a warrant” – which was when Belinda asked Summer to start recording.
Video of the incident shows police telling Belinda: “You’re under arrest,” before she says, “I've never been arrested before”, screaming for help from neighbours while wrestling with officers.
"Just completely over the top. It was so aggressive, so aggressive. You would think she's a murderer or something," neighbour Jenny said.
"I was resisting arrest because I didn't understand what was going on," Belinda said.
"If someone grabbed you, you're going to - your instinct is going to be to resist. No matter what it is."
Summer told 9News' A Current Affair that she believes she would've been more calm “if they told us what it was for”.
The 12-year-old was left on her own, waiting for her mother to come back.
Belinda claims a bout of forgetfulness after an unpaid fill-up at the petrol station set off a chain reaction that led to her arrest.
"I went to a petrol station, and my Apple Pay wasn't working," Belinda explained.
"Internet is, you know, sometimes down or whatever, and I left my licence with them at 7 Eleven, and they were like, 'All good', and I was going to go back and pay, but I was back and forth travelling, moving (and I) forgot about it."
She allegedly owed the petrol station $60.
Two months later, a police officer appeared at her home, handing her a notice to appear in court.
"He was like, 'If you don't pay, you'll go to court' and I said 'I'm going to pay' and he goes 'Well good, you won't have to go to court'," Belinda said.
Belinda said she went back to the petrol station and paid for the fuel – under the impression that if she paid, she wouldn't have to go to court.
"I signed a piece of paper, paid it," Belinda replied.
"I said, 'Oh will this be withdrawn?' he said, 'Yeah, nah, it's all good, this always happens'."
She was served a warrant for not appearing in court, which triggered the arrest.
"I want a public apology. I want them to come here and apologise to my neighbours. I want them to apologise to my daughter," Belinda said.
Queensland Police said the warrant was “in relation to a number of outstanding matters”.
“Officers advised the woman she was required to attend the police station for a short duration and would then be returned home.”
They said the outstanding fuel payment was not the main reason for their appearance at the woman's house.
“The matter regarding the alleged, outstanding fuel payment was just one of the matters police wanted to speak to the woman about, but it was not the primary purpose officers attended.
“Regarding the stealing complaint, police have not received any advice from the service station of a desire to withdraw the matter.”
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