Judge rules Victoria Police violence ‘unjustified’ in Covid lockdown protest
A judge has found Victoria Police used “unjustified violence” to make arrests during a Covid lockdown rally, in which protesters were thrown to the ground and one man was left with a dislocated arm.
Police & Courts
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Victoria Police used “unlawful” and “unjustified violence” in a violent attack on anti-lockdown protesters during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a judge has found.
In a stunning decision handed down in the County Court, Judge Liz Gaynor ruled police were the “aggressors” and “employed unjustified violence” amid a public protest on 29 May, 2021 that left one man with a dislocated arm.
The judgment has called into question police tactics and prompted calls for prosecutors to consider laying charges against the police involved.
At the time of the protest Victorians were subject to strict lockdown conditions including bans on leaving the home and wear face mask requirements.
A 5km bubble was in place for needing to go shopping or wanting to exercise, and both public and private gatherings were explicitly banned.
The protest, around the city’s Flagstaff Gardens, drew a huge police presence with officers outnumbering the 150 protesters and forming a ring of steel around the gardens.
More than a dozen protesters were arrested for offences including assaulting police, affray and breaching the chief health officer’s directions, during the protests.
They included Jason Reeves, Nicholas Patterson and Adam Roob who were each thrown to the ground and arrested by police at the scene.
The men had been asked to leave before their arrests.
In her stinging judgment Judge Gaynor ruled the arrests unlawful, saying the men did nothing to warrant the violent police response which was captured by body-worn cameras.
Mr Reeves was the first to be arrested after being punched to the face by police and thrown to the ground in what Judge Gaynor dubbed an “immediate and violent” response.
Mr Patterson and Mr Roob, who said they were trying to defend Mr Reeves, were then sprayed with OC spray and thrown to the ground, with Mr Paterson suffering a dislocated arm.
The pair was in court facing a string of charges including assaulting an emergency worker on duty and common law assault.
But Judge Gaynor ruled police evidence inadmissible because “by their unlawful violence police instigated the response by the accused which underlies the charges they now face.”
“There are a number of ways in which the charging of the accused could have taken place,” Judge Gaynor said.
“It could have been done by the issuing of infringement notices at any stage … it could have been done by way of stopping the accused and other members of the group informing them that they were in breach of the restrictions and that they were to be placed under arrest.
“However, the police chose not to respond that way. I am satisfied that in arresting Mr Reeves, police used unnecessary and unwarranted force and violence.”
Judge Gaynor said footage of the group in the half-hour leading to the arrest showed no behaviour which warranted police forming a view they would engage in violent behaviour.
“I am satisfied that (police) were the aggressors in the situation and that they employed unjustified violence on Mr Reeves in effecting the arrest.
“They did not wait for a line to be formed across the footpath which could have been observed by Mr Reeves.
“They did not speak to him and inform him he was under arrest and then inform him why.
“They simply confronted, pushed, and attacked him before bringing him to the ground. In my view, they used unlawful violence in arresting Mr Reeves.”
Judge Gaynor also found Mr Paterson and Mr Roob “were met with physical intervention”.
A senior justice figure, who could not be named, said the matter warranted further investigation.
“I’m not a fan of those who were protesting and carrying on during the lockdowns, but considering the waste of money and resources that continue, and now what appears to be police committing serious indictable offences, people should be held to account,” they said.
“If protesters were charged, so should the police who have been found by a court to have committed impropriety or contravention of an Australian law.”
Both Victoria Police and Office of Public Prosecutions refused to comment.
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