Melbourne breaks heatwave record

Melbourne has made history with a record ninth straight day of temperatures above 30C. Source: AAP

MELBOURNE has made history with a record nine-day heatwave of temperatures above 30 degrees.

The mercury hit 30.2C at about 11am (AEDT) on Tuesday, marking the first nine-day run of 30-degree plus days since records began in 1856, the weather bureau says.

Duty forecaster Michael Halfpenny says the remarkable hot spell will continue into Tuesday afternoon, with temperatures expected to reach a high of 37C.

"From a longevity point of view, having that many days above 30C is remarkable for Melbourne," he told AAP.

A cool change will finally bring relief to sweltering city residents on Wednesday.

"(It's) still going to be a warm night, but the temperature will drop once the change will go through."

Mr Halfpenny predicted mild to warm weather for the rest of the week and cool, possibly rainy conditions for the weekend.

A total fire ban has also been declared in the southwest and Wimmera fire districts on Tuesday.

The March heatwave comes on the back of a hot February, when Melbourne sweltered through six consecutive days above 30C.

Overall, Melbourne experienced 14 days over 30C in February, equalling the previous record.

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Aboriginal man had police assault record

A YOUNG Aboriginal man falsely accused of assaulting a police officer was serving a suspended sentence for a similar offence at the time.

Corey Barker, 24, was fined $800 and given a nine-month suspended jail sentence in Byron Bay Local Court in June 2010 for using offensive language, resisting an officer and assaulting an officer.

In 2008, he received a 12-month good behaviour bond for common assault.

Mr Barker's criminal history was tendered to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) in Sydney where he was giving evidence on Tuesday.

The PIC is looking at allegations officers bashed Mr Barker while he was in custody and later falsely accused him of assaulting them, after he intervened in an altercation between police and two of his friends in January 2011.

He was initially charged with punching a police officer and other offences, but the charges were dropped.

The case was referred to the PIC after CCTV footage from inside Ballina police station contradicted testimony from officers, and a magistrate found they had lied about the incident.

Mr Barker said when his mother visited him at the police station one officer made a lewd gesture while standing behind her.

"I saw an officer behind doing a gesture, pretending to squeeze her arse," he told the inquiry.

"They were just trying to aggravate me."

Sometime later, Constable Luke Mewing approached him from outside the cage with a mobile phone and asked Mr Barker for the access code.

The inquiry heard that Mr Barker had tried to film the altercation between police and his friends but was tackled by an officer.

He had borrowed his sister's phone and didn't know the code.

"He got a bit angry, expecting me to know it," Mr Barker said.

Four officers then attempted to move him from the cage to another room, intending to take him to a cell down the hall.

"They had shoved me through the door ... to provoke me," he said.

Police falsely claimed he had punched Senior Constable David Hill on the nose in that incident.

The CCTV footage showed the officers wrestling Mr Barker to the ground, kicking him in the head and kneeing him in his side.

The officers handcuffed him and dragged him along the floor down to the cells with his arms in a vertical position.

"It had to be the top of the cake for pain in that incident," Mr Barker said.

He suffered injuries to his face, neck, arms and hips.

The inquiry continues.

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