A HOMELESS musician in Fremantle has asked the CCC to investigate an altercation with police on the Cappuccino Strip that left him unconscious and with a serious head wound.

Colin Brown (57) was busking outside Timezone three weeks ago when he was pushed off his stool by a passerby who then stole $30 from his microphone case and ran off.

But when Police turned up in response to the theft, Mr Brown says the tables were turned and he was treated like a criminal and told he was no longer allowed to busk outside the store.

Police claim the musician was drunk and abusive.

“They mouthed off at me and I mouthed off at them,” says Mr Brown, who doesn’t dispute he’d been drinking.

• Homeless musician Colin Brown’s sporting a deep scar on his forehead following a scrap with police. He’s lodged a complaint with the CCC. Photo by Trilokesh Chanmugam

Police acknowledge he tried to leave, but because he continued to hurl abuse at the officers they reacted and arrested him. A statement from police media said Mr Brown started head-butting and kicking officers as they tried to search him.

“Whilst being placed into the secure pod the man hit his head on the pod, and received a laceration to his head,” the statement said.

Mr Brown, sporting a deep scar which stretches almost from his crown to an eyebrow, reckons that much damage isn’t accidental.

“They threw me headfirst into the pavement…then threw me in the back of the van like a rag doll,” he says.

“When I got to Fiona Stanley there was a pool of blood in the back of the van.” Mr Brown had his head stapled at the hospital.

Police say he continued to be abusive, so was moved to a secure cell where he kicked at the door and broke part of the trim.

Bradley James Raper, who witnessed the incident, says the officers should have called an ambulance when they saw Mr Brown was seriously injured.

“The back of a divvy van is not the healthiest of places,” Mr Raper said. “He was the victim here.”

Mr Brown will appear in the Fremantle Magistrate’s court next year on charges of disorderly behaviour, obstructing public officers, and unlawful damage.

by TRILOKESH CHANMUGAM