Victoria’s top condemns actions of Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe
Victoria’s top cop has condemned the “inappropriate” actions of Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe after she hurled abuse at frontline officers at a protest.
Victoria
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Victoria’s top cop has slammed the actions of Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe after she and 30 other protesters hurled abuse at frontline officers.
Ms Thorpe falsely accused police officers of “locking up innocent people” and said they were “the only criminals on this land” at a protest at the Melbourne Immigration and Transit Centre in Broadmeadows on May 3.
The immigration detainees at the centre were not in police custody and a small group of detainees who were being moved to Christmas Island consisted of non-citizen sex offenders, drug dealers, armed robbers and domestic violence thugs.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said Ms Thorpe’s conduct was “unacceptable”, “inappropriate” and “very, very disappointing”.
“I just hope that she has had a good think about it and had time to reflect upon it,” Mr Patton said on 3AW on Monday.
“She was in the face of our members, she was aggressive and finger pointing.
“It’s not the type of conduct I would have expected from someone in her position.”
Members of the group Ms Thorpe was leading called police “white supremacists” among other slurs.
“There were quite some disgraceful slurs and comments made — not by Senator Thorpe, she made some comments, but by others involved,” Mr Patton said.
“Working at a protest is hard enough as it is but someone is pointing their finger at you, they are yelling, they are part of a large group, calling us criminals, saying how dare we do things.
“We have nothing to do with those people detained in detention there.”
Mr Patton said he “couldn’t have been prouder” of the way his members conducted themselves.
“They did a fantastic job on that day to show the restraint when confronted by Ms Thorpe and others,” he said.
Mr Patton said no criminal offences was committed at the protest and he wasn’t aware of claims that police “manhandled” Ms Thorpe.
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