Cop suspended over ‘sling tackle’ at Flinders Street Station

A policeman has been suspended after slamming a man into the floor of Flinders Street Station during Melbourne’s chaotic protests.

A policeman has been suspended pending an investigation over an incident at Flinders Street Station last Friday.

The officer, a senior sergeant with a “specialist support unit,” is off work after an initial investigation.

Footage aired online showed a police officer grab a man from behind and slam him on to the floor of the station.

It was last week described by prominent lawyer Jeremy King as being like a “sling tackle”.

Last Wednesday’s incident happened as police battled to combat a wave of protest activity in the CBD and surrounding areas.

It is not known whether the man tackled by the officer was a protester.

Police guard the entrance to Flinders Street Station. Picture: Getty Images

He was talking to two other police, who appeared relaxed, at the time.

“An acting sergeant from a specialist support unit has since been suspended as a result of early inquiries,” a Victoria Police statement said.

Police have appealed for witnesses or the person who took the footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

TOP LAWYER SLAMS POLICE ‘SLING TACKLE’

A confrontation in which a man is slammed on to the floor of Flinders Street Station has been criticised by a prominent Melbourne lawyer.

Jeremy King, who specialises in representing clients in police misconduct cases, said he was shocked by footage in which the man is grabbed from behind and thrown on to the tiles.

The matter is now the subject of an internal Victoria Police investigation after being posted online.

Before he is taken from behind in what Mr King described as a “sling tackle”, the man is talking to other police who appear to be relaxed.

“The officer he’s talking to isn’t doing anything. That indicates to me that he can’t really have been posing a threat,” Mr King said.

“That footage was sickening; that sort of conduct is really dangerous,” Mr King said.

Mr King, principal at Robinson Gill Lawyers, said he understood police had endured an extremely trying week.

“It has been a long and difficult week for police but that sort of conduct cannot be justified,” he said.

“Police are supposed to be the adults in the room. Violence on both sides should be condemned.”