It all happened so fast. The sudden yelling, the blur of blue uniforms, the feeling of gravel rubbing against his cheek.
WARNING: Readers are advised this story depicts allegations that some people may find disturbing.
How Changamire Chipangamazano, not his real name, ended up on the ground with two officers standing over him was a mystery — but he remembers the agonising pain.
It was a sweltering December day in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, just before Christmas in 2023.
Mr Chipangamazano, who is of African descent, had pulled into a petrol station to fill up his sedan with fuel on the way back from his brother's house.
As he stood at the bowser, the 48-year-old said he realised the pump didn't supply E10, so he got back into his car and pulled into another bay.
As he swung his car around, he recalled vaguely seeing two police officers yelling across the bay.
When he emerged from his car, two police officers walked towards him, trying to get his attention. Instinctively, Mr Chipangamazano pulled out his phone to start recording.
Body camera vision obtained by the ABC shows what happened next.
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'You've broken my arm'
One officer told Mr Chipangamazano to get back into his car.
"You're under arrest for not wearing a seatbelt," the officer said, grabbing Mr Chipangamazano and tackling him to the ground.
Mr Chipangamazano said he "didn't understand" the situation unfolding before him and didn't have a chance to explain himself.
Within a matter of moments, he was face down on the ground — his arm bent to the point of breaking — so that the officers could handcuff him.
"The pain was excruciating," he said.
"I was telling him, 'You've broken my arm, give me some help'."
Mr Chipangamazano was told to stop resisting, but he insists he complied and didn't put up a fight.
Despite this, he said the officers didn't initially explain to him what he was alleged to have done wrong and continued to use force.
"I couldn't engage in a conversation … there was no empathy, nothing, they just treated me like an animal," Mr Chipangamazano said.
"I was thinking death, the way it happened so fast."
'There's nothing that would warrant that kind of behaviour'
Body cam vision shows one officer trying to explain their actions to Mr Chipangamazano before he was taken away.
"I gave you directions to move ... so we could talk to you about driving without your seatbelt," the officer said.
"You then drove in front of the bowser without wearing a seatbelt."
During the heated exchange, Mr Chipangamazano replied: "I told you I was parking."
The officers asked Mr Chipangamazano to state his full name, which he refused to do, before he was pushed into a police vehicle and taken to Ipswich watch house.
He was charged with failure to wear a seatbelt and with obstructing police.
He was later taken to Ipswich Hospital to be treated for a fractured forearm.
Mr Chipangamazano maintains he was always wearing a seatbelt but said the level of force used during the arrest was excessive.
He believes the colour of his skin played a role in his treatment.
"Even if I wasn't wearing a seatbelt … there's nothing that would warrant that kind of behaviour," he said.
"It's the most inhumane behaviour I've ever seen … [the officers] treated me like an aggressive dog."
Charges dropped after racial profiling complaint
Mr Chipangamazano emigrated from Zimbabwe via New Zealand with his family 13 years ago for a better life.
He settled in Brisbane, where he runs a lawn mowing business to help support his disabled son.
Shortly after the incident in Ipswich, Mr Chipangamazano lodged a complaint with police, accusing them of unnecessary force. He believes he was racially profiled.
The charges against him were later dropped.
A spokesperson for Queensland police said "Ipswich District is aware of the matter, and it is subject to an internal investigation".
"It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst this is underway."
Queensland's police union was contacted for comment.
'Would this happen to anyone else that doesn't look like me?'
The Queensland African Communities Council (QACC) said the level of force used in Mr Chipangamazano's arrest was unacceptable.
"It wasn't just an overaction, I think there was some sort of misconduct," the organisation's president Beny Bol said.
Mr Bol said racial profiling was a systemic issue members of his community dealt with on a regular basis.
He said the Ipswich incident had the potential to erode trust between police and African Australians.
"When people watch footage like that, young people, you start to question your confidence in law enforcement," Mr Bol said.
"Would this happen to anyone else that doesn't look like me?"
A 2022 commission of inquiry into the culture of Queensland Police Service found a "failure in leadership" allowed cultural issues within the service to fester "unchecked" for years.
The inquiry recommended the establishment of an independent integrity unit to investigate all complaints against police, something which is yet to be implemented.
In December 2023, Queensland police allowed three officers who joked about "beating and burying" black people in audio secretly recorded at a Brisbane watch house to keep their jobs.
In the leaked audio, police and staff at the Brisbane watch house were also heard worrying Australia would be "taken over" by a particular ethnic group.
The officers involved in the incident were subject to an investigation and ordered to undergo cultural awareness training.
But Mr Bol said cultural training only went so far, and that Queensland police needed to take responsibility.
"Training is important, but it depends on the leadership of the organisation to shape of the behaviour of the personnel," he said.
"It's not easy for any institution that doesn't look like the community, to build confidence in the community."
Arrest erodes confidence in the police
Nearly eight months on, Mr Chipangamazano said the incident has left him both mentally and physically scarred.
He said the arrest eroded his confidence in the police and made him feel unsafe.
He also said his injuries left him unable to work for several months.
He's now considering moving back to Zimbabwe.
"There are some wonderful people in Australia," he said.
"But this made me feel not welcome."
