A young e-bike rider has been handcuffed at a Gold Coast beach, with Aussies divided over whether the police officer’s response was fair. 

Queensland Police officers were filmed speaking to two young boys aged 12 and 15 at Surfers Paradise on Sunday. 

A witness filmed an officer placing one of the boy’s child’s hands behind his back before handcuffing him alongside his high-powered electric bike.

The boy nodded at the officer as the video then showed his friend speaking to another policeman beside his e‑bike.

The footage immediately sparked debate among Aussies online.

‘They’re only kids, that’s a bit heavy-handed,’ one person commented. 

‘Bit extreme, handcuffing a kid,’ another said.

‘I bet them cops feel proud… keeping us safe,’ a third wrote.

The police officer handcuffs the young boy at Surfers Paradise beach on the Gold Coast last Sunday morning

Others joked that the arrest was a ‘great use of police resources’.

Some, however, applauded the police action, noting how much they hate e-bikes and the reckless way they are used at times.

‘Good, about bloody time. Now send the parents a whopping fine,’ one said. 

‘The weight of that thing would end most of you if it hit you on the sidewalk. Imagine how you’d feel if your kid was the one knocked down,’ another argued.

‘I’ve seen elderly people step out of supermarkets and get knocked over by kids on these things,’ a third person wrote.

A Queensland Police spokesperson told news.com.au the boys were allegedly riding in a ‘dangerous manner.’

‘Police are investigating the dangerous operation of an electric motorbike at Surfers Paradise on 29 March,’ a statement said. 

‘It will be alleged that around 11.50am, two boys were riding unregistered, uninsured electric motorbikes on the beach in a dangerous manner.’ 

There have been crackdowns on illegal e-bikes with hundreds of fines issued to riders (pictured, police speak to a young e-bike rider in March)

The state government has recently revealed proposed new laws which will ban children under the age of 16 from using e-bikes and e-scooters.

Riders over the age of 16 will also need a licence to ride e-bikes which will be restricted to 10km/h on footpaths.

Users of the more powerful bikes that can reach speeds of more than 25km/h will need a motorbike licence along with compulsory third-party insurance.

Police will also have the power to seize and destroy illegal bikes. 

There have been more than 6,000 reported injuries related to e-bikes across Queensland between 2022 and 2025.

Twelve people died in e-mobility device-related incidents last year in Queensland as bikes and scooters continue to take over major roads, parks and residential footpaths.

Further south in NSW, two boys aged 14 and 15 were killed when their petrol-powered bikes crashed into a bus in Sydney’s west last week.

Two boys aged 14 and 15 were killed when their petrol-powered bikes crashed into a bus in Sydney’s west last month (pictured, emergency services at the scene)

Hillcrest tragedy survivor Lucas Reid, 15, died in an e-bike accident in Devonport

Weeks earlier two teenagers were killed after they were hit by a Harley Davidson while riding e-bikes in Brisbane’s south.

One of the miracle survivors of a deadly jumping castle tragedy in Tasmania died in an e-bike crash on New Year’s Eve.

Lucas Reid, 15, was killed in a single vehicle accident in Devonport after his e-bike collided with a telephone pole on a rural road.

Reid had narrowly avoided death four years earlier when he sustained serious injuries in the Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy.