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No action taken against policeman accused of choking woman with mask exemption

A police officer accused of choking a woman with a medical exemption for not wearing a mask will have no action taken against him following a police investigation into the controversial arrest.

Mask arrest

No action will be taken against a police officer accused of choking a woman who had a legitimate reason for not wearing a mask.

Police arrested the 21-year-old St Kilda woman in Collingwood on August 12 after she failed to provide her name and address when questioned about why she was not wearing a mask.

Dramatic footage of the arrest went viral and showed a male officer grab the woman around the neck as she screamed “he’s choking me” before kicking a female officer.

The woman has a medical exemption for not wearing a mask and was arrested for refusing to provide her name and address to police.
The woman has a medical exemption for not wearing a mask and was arrested for refusing to provide her name and address to police.
Video of the arrest filmed by the woman’s boyfriend and an onlooker went viral.
Video of the arrest filmed by the woman’s boyfriend and an onlooker went viral.

It later emerged the woman had a medical exemption for not wearing a mask and police withdrew her fine for failing to comply with state health orders.

The arrest was referred to the Professional Standards Command for oversight.

The Herald Sun can reveal the matter was delegated to local police for investigation and that no action will be taken against the arresting officer.

“An internal debrief has been conducted in relation to the matter. No further action will be taken,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

The development comes amid a series of high-profile arrests resulting in widespread criticism of police, including the arrest of a pregnant Ballarat woman in her home in connection to an anti-lockdown rally.

Zoe Buhler was arrested live on Facebook for inciting a lockdown protest in Ballarat. Source: Facebook.
Zoe Buhler was arrested live on Facebook for inciting a lockdown protest in Ballarat. Source: Facebook.

The St Kilda woman was charged with assault and resist police and was bailed to face the Moorabbin Justice Centre on November 11.

aneeka.simonis@news.com.au

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/no-action-taken-against-policeman-accused-of-choking-woman-with-mask-exemption/news-story/2c9aa085b2c209a9a5fdfca5902cfd81