Woman alleges neck, shoulders left bruised after “heavy handed” police restrained her

Events after a wedding reception at Bell Post Hill allegedly turned violent when a woman kicked police. The woman alleges a male officer used so much force to restraint her she couldn’t breath.

An “aggressive” Lara woman kicked three police officers, including one in the face, during an “agitated” early morning outburst after a wedding reception in Bell Post Hill, police allege.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said it was “expected” the 26-year-old would be charged with three counts of assaulting an on-duty emergency worker.

The woman, who has undergone mental health treatment for a decade and did not want to be named, denied she assaulted officers when they were called to the incident on Sunday.

On Tuesday evening, the woman claimed she had reported the matter to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), which investigates police misconduct.

The Geelong Advertiser has seen images of bruising on the woman’s neck, shoulders and hip, which she alleges was inflicted by officers as she was pulled to the ground, restrained and handcuffed at the Cobradah House venue.

“It was extremely heavy handed. I felt completely worthless. I didn’t even know if I had a choice or if my life was going to be there the next day. He had so much pressure on my throat,” the woman, who asked the images weren’t published, said of her interaction with police.

Police allege a Lara woman assaulted three officers at Cobradah House in Bell Post Hill on Sunday morning.

The woman said she was handcuffed by police but denied she was aggressive.

She said the area of her neck where an officer pressed his elbow was injured earlier that night in an episode of self harm.

The woman claimed an officer at the scene threatened to capsicum spray her while she was handcuffed on the ground, face down.

The Victoria Police spokeswoman was asked about this claim but did not respond to the question.

“Officers were called to a reception venue on Beauford Ave on October 9 after they became aware ambulance paramedics were attending the venue following reports a woman had tried to harm herself about 1am,” the spokeswoman said.

“Attending police attempted to speak with the agitated woman who was uncooperative and became aggressive.

“It is expected the woman will charged on summons with three counts of assault emergency worker in the execution of their duty after a female constable was kicked in the face, which left swelling and bruising to her face and a further two male police officers were also kicked.”

The police spokeswoman said the Lara woman was restrained by police before she was left with paramedics and taken to hospital for assessment on Sunday morning.

Asked about the claim she assaulted three police officers, the woman said: “Check the body cameras. I deny any claim.”

She said eight officers attended Cobradah House about 3am on Sunday.

The Geelong Advertiser understands that at least one person at the venue was known to police.

The woman said she was sedated by paramedics at the scene after police removed her handcuffs, and taken to hospital for mental health assessment and discharged about 8am on Sunday morning.

She said she had been treated by a psychologist for the past decade, had taken medication for depression and anxiety for the past eight months

and had received treatment for other mental health concerns.

Originally published as Woman alleges neck, shoulders left bruised after “heavy handed” police restrained her