‘It’s not on’: Business owner, customer arrested as police issue 75 penalty notices

A shop in the NSW Southern Highlands has posted footage of a customer and owner being “violently arrested” after they refused to comply with the state’s mandatory mask measures.

Police on Thursday issued 75 penalty infringement notices and 12 other notices to people for not complying with measures introduced to combat the growing COVID-19 outbreak that has locked down Greater Sydney.

The arrest at The Organic store Bowral.Credit: the_organic_store_bowral

They included PINs for a couple who left Sydney to travel along the NSW North Coast, then across to Lightning Ridge, through Inverell, and down to Dubbo where a visit to Western Plains Zoo drew the attention of police officers.

In Bowral, an incident unfolded at a business after the owner and a customer refused to comply with mandatory mask orders.

The Organic Store posted the footage to its Instagram of its owner being arrested and forcibly put in the back of a police vehicle.

In the caption of the video, the store wrote that police “forcibly arrested the owners without due cause”, but admitted the shop “takes a stand against the mandatory mask mandates”, claiming “masks are unhygienic and in an open food store, (organic store) it isn’t safe”.

The Instagram account includes multiple posts discouraging mask-wearing and vaccines.

A photo of a sign outside the shop states “to protect our customers and each other, if you have had any vaccine in the last 10 to 14 days please do not enter” and “for hygiene reasons, no masks in store please”.

According to the post, the owners argued with officers for more than an hour and, when a customer began filming the exchange, police moved to physically eject her from the store.

That led to “a violent incident outside”, where officers “restrained and violently arrested both owners and the customer”.

The owner of The Organic Store, Bowral and a customer were arrested after an incident with police. Credit: Rhett Wyman

In a statement, NSW Police said officers observed a number of people without masks inside the store around 12.15pm on Thursday and spoke to the 62-year-old female manager who told them she “had no intentions of complying with the current orders and was arrested after refusing to provide police her details”.

Police also arrested a 61-year-old female customer who refused to put on a mask. As they escorted the women outside, officers were confronted with a 63-year-old man who allegedly pulled down the face mask of a sergeant.

The incident was recorded and posted to social media. Credit: the_organic_store_bowral

The man was arrested and charged with assaulting and resisting an officer in the execution of their duty. He was granted bail to appear at Moss Vale Local Court on August 3.

The two women were later released with the younger woman issued a $200 PIN. Further charges and infringements are expected with inquiries continuing into additional Public Health Order breaches, the NSW Police statement said.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, Deputy NSW Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said “it is not on” for people to choose to ignore the measures, whether in regard to travel or masks.

He said the police “took suitable action” after they were called to the store “as a result of community concern, it was a person in the community, a number of people in the community who alerted police.”

Attempts have been made to seek comment from the store owners.

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