Teen held at gunpoint over false report

Kate Hartcher, 18, thought she was going to die when she was swooped on by police in the driveway of her NSW Central Coast home on October 15.“I turned around, he had his gun pointed at me,” the disability support worker told A Current Affair.“He yelled out: ‘Get on the f**king ground. You have the right to remain silent’.“I kept asking ‘why is the gun pointed at me?’ because that was mainly what I was scared about. I honestly thought I was going to get shot.”CCTV footage shows Ms Hartcher laying on the ground by her car with the policeman pointing his gun at her, for what ACA reported was 90 long seconds.She was then put in handcuffs and told an older woman had reported the car stolen, but Ms Hartcher says she had purchased the BMW, which was advertised on Carsales, from a “younger Chinese male” and had the paperwork to prove it.“I’ve never seen an older lady at all,” she said.“When I did purchase the vehicle, (the man) said it was on behalf of his friend because they were stuck in another country.”Police said Ms Hartcher didn’t transfer the registration papers into her name for four months. They requested her car be towed while further inquiries were made.Ms Hartcher’s father Mark, who is a retired police officer, described the footage as “upsetting”.“I’ve never seen an unarmed compliant person be arrested at gunpoint and not just be arrested at gunpoint but detained for such a long time, it’s just unnecessary,” he said.The officer was a senior constable with traffic and highway patrol, and Ms Hartcher was a suspended driver when the incident happened, but he let her off with a warning, ACA reported.There is an open investigation into the reporting of the vehicle as stolen and police are investigating the actions of the officer following a formal complaint. Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au