In a shocking decision, a judge has ruled that Victoria Police used “unlawful” and “unjustified” violence against anti-lockdown protesters during the Covid-19 pandemic.
County Court Judge Liz Gaynor ruled police were the “aggressors” in a protest in Melbourne on May 29, 2021 that left a man with a dislocated arm.
Victoria had some of the strictest lockdown conditions in the world at the time, including people only being able to move within a 5km area of their home for shopping or exercise, and a ban on public and private gatherings.
At the May 29 gathering in Flagstaff Gardens, police officers vastly outnumbered the 150 protesters who showed up, more than a dozen of whom were arrested for offenses including assault and failure to comply with the health director’s instructions.
Jason Reeves, Nicholas Patterson and Adam Roob were thrown to the ground and arrested at the protest after they were asked to leave, the Herald of the sun reported.
In a shocking decision, a judge has ruled that Victoria Police used “unlawful” and “unjustified” violence against anti-lockdown protesters during the Covid-19 pandemic. Here, a protester is ejected from a demonstration in Melbourne.
Victoria had some of the strictest lockdown conditions in the world during the pandemic, including the fact that people could only move within a 5km area of their home to shop or exercise, and a ban on public gatherings and private. Pictured is an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne.
Judge Gaynor said the men’s arrests were unlawful and they had done nothing to justify the violent response captured on police body cameras.
Police punched Reeves in the face and threw him to the ground, which the judge said was an “immediate and violent” response.
Patterson and Roob said they attempted to defend Reeves and in doing so were pepper-sprayed and thrown to the ground, with Paterson’s arm dislocated in the struggle.
Roob and Patterson appeared in court on charges including common law assault and assault on an emergency worker on duty.
But the judge ruled that the police evidence was inadmissible because “through their unlawful violence, the police instigated the defendant’s response that underlies the charges they now face.”
Judge Gaynor said police had a number of options for dealing with the couple, such as issuing infringement notices or telling them they had breached restrictions and should be arrested.
‘However, the police decided not to respond in that way. I am satisfied that, in arresting Mr Reeves, the police used unnecessary and unjustified force and violence.’
She said video of the group in the 30 minutes before the arrest did not indicate they would be violent and that she was “satisfied that (police) were the aggressor in the situation and that they used unwarranted violence against Mr. Reeves.”
County Court Judge Liz Gaynor ruled police were the “aggressors” in a protest in Melbourne on May 29, 2021 that left a man with a dislocated arm. Police hold a man during a protest in Melbourne.
Protesters are pictured being pepper sprayed at an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne.
The judge said police did not speak to him to tell him he was under arrest or why he was arrested, but instead “confronted, pushed and attacked him before throwing him to the ground.”
It also found that Mr Paterson and Mr Roob “were met with physical intervention”.
Victoria Police declined to comment on the cases when contacted by Australia’s Daily Mail.
The Victorian Prosecutor’s Office has also been contacted for comment.