Australia Police have reportedly launched an internal investigation into the matter.
An Indian origin man is fighting for his life in Australia after he was tackled to the ground by police and allegedly kneed in the neck. Forty-two-year-old Gaurav Kundi, a father of two, was put on life support with suspected brain damage after a violent police encounter with the police in Adelaide.
Kundi and his partner Amritpal Kaur were allegedly arguing in public in Adelaide's eastern suburbs in the early hours of Thursday, according to a report by Australia Today.
A passing patrol reportedly mistook the incident for domestic violence despite Kaur's insistence that Kundi was simply drunk and loud, not violent.
Police told 9News that Kundi "violently resisted" arrest before he lost consciousness and became unresponsive while on the ground. His partner filmed the altercation-- footage of which was obtained by 9News. The clip reportedly showed Kundi screaming as several officers tried to detain him against a police car.
'I've done nothing wrong,' he shouted, while Kaur filmed the act, crying out that the police to release her partner and telling them that they were acting unfairly.
Kundi reportedly lost consciousness after he was tackled to the ground, with a police officer allegedly driving a knee into his neck - a move that echoes the 2020 George Floyd case in the United States.
"I stopped filming because I panicked when the officer knelt on him," Kaur told 9News, adding that Kundi's head was slammed against the police car and the road during the arrest.
The Indian-origin man was then taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where doctors said that he received severe injuries to his brain and neck nerves. His grieving partner is not sure if he will wake up from the coma again.
Meanwhile, South Australia Police have reportedly launched an internal investigation into the matter and are reviewing body-cam footage.
Per the 9News report, acting assistant commissioner John DeCandia believes his officers acted appropriately based on initial evidence, but the probe is underway.
"I can say that from that evidence I've looked at, from that body-worn video, but it is only one portion, I'm comfortable, but that is only one police officer," he said.
