‘Bitterly disappointed’: Victim demands review of botched bookshop arrest
The conduct of Victoria Police’s Critical Incident Response Team has been called into question by the anti-corruption watchdog, despite clearing officers of excessive force in the bungled arrest of Nik Dimopoulos at a Fitzroy LGBTQI bookshop.
Police & Courts
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Fears have been raised of a dangerous legal precedent after the anti-corruption watchdog cleared police over an arrest in which an innocent man was badly injured.
Nik Dimopoulos’s arm was broken during a raid on the LGBTQI Hares & Hyenas bookshop in Fitzroy on May 11 last year.
Critical incident response team officers wrongly thought he was a carjacking suspect.
On Thursday the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission ruled the arrest was lawful and police had not used excessive force.
Mr Dimopoulos said he was “bitterly disappointed” by the findings and will fight for a review by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
He will also take civil action against Victoria Police.
“I am bitterly disappointed and angry about these contradictory and unjust findings. I am at a loss as to how IBAC could come to these conclusions,” he said.
His lawyer, Jeremy King, said he feared the findings would set a dangerous precedent for policing in Victoria.
He said they were “unjust, contradictory and blatantly disregard the law” and that the DPP and courts must act.
“At law, in order for an arrest to be lawful, a person must be told they are under arrest and why they are under arrest,” he said. “IBAC found that Nik was never told he was under arrest, yet somehow IBAC also found that the arrest was lawful. This is contradictory and highly problematic.”
The IBAC probe found police breached Mr Dimopoulos’ human rights by not telling him why he had been arrested, making him aware of his rights or releasing him from custody.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner of professional standards command Russell Barrett said the force was “absolutely committed to respecting people’s human rights”.
The investigation found no evidence the raid was linked to the sexuality of those involved.
However IBAC is demanding answers from Victoria Police after it found “ongoing and potentially systemic issues” relating to the CIRT.
IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich, QC, gave Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton until June 2020 to respond.
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