Rachel Jean Buckley’s lawyer accuses police of unlawful arrest

A magistrate has described a case of hindering police that arose after a Tweed border protest as “unusual” as questions are asked about why a woman was arrested instead of just being fined.

A lawyer for a woman who was charged after a lockdown protest at the Queensland border says her client was wrongfully arrested and denies the charges against her.

Rachel Jean Buckley, 36, has pleaded not guilty to charges of not complying with a Covid-19 noticed direction and resisting or hindering a police officer in the execution of duty.

The matter was mentioned in Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday.

Defence lawyer Amanda Fawaz had applied for the release of CCTV at the watch-house, which police objected to.

Ms Buckley was not required to appear.

The court heard Ms Buckley was arrested when she was allegedly found leading a horse down Kennedy Drive after a protest at the state border on August 22, 2021.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Martin told the court it was alleged Ms Buckley was hindering police identifying who was on the horse by leading the horse away.

"Freedom" protesters gather at the Queensland border to protest border restrictions on August 22, 2021. Picture: Scott Powick

Ms Fawaz told the court Ms Buckley had been unlawfully taken into custody for the purpose of an investigation or to apply pressure on her to provide information, which was not a legitimate purpose for the arrest.

She said her client had spent six hours in custody and her phone was seized.

She applied for a copy of CCTV footage from the watch house, saying it was “more than relevant” to the case.

Police objected to the release of the footage.

Magistrate Geoff Dunlevy said leading the horse away didn’t necessarily make the police’s job more difficult, or at least not substantially more difficult.

“It seems likely that something as noteworthy as a horse at protest, it’s probably been captured on camera by CCTV footage or photographs,” Mr Dunlevy said.

Sgt Martin told the court removing the horse from the area drew attention away from the rider, therefore hindering the investigation.

Ms Fawaz questioned why her client had been taken into custody when the horse rider was issued with a penalty infringement notice, which was the more common result for public health order breaches.

Mr Dunlevy queried if the arrest came at a time where police felt more pressured to arrest people for offences that would normally be dealt with by way of a fine or by field court attendance notice following statements from the NSW police commissioner.

Mr Dunlevy granted the defence access to the CCTV footage in what he described as an “unusual” case of hindering police.

The case was adjourned to January 31, 2022.