One Facebook post, a pregnant poster, four Ballarat detectives, an arrest and handcuffs

Victoria Police website:

LEADERSHIP

Being people-focused, confident but still humble and committed to living our values. What does this look like in Victoria Police?

Guardian Australia, Wednesday:

Police in Victoria have arrested a pregnant 28-year-old woman in front of her partner and two children for planning an anti-lockdown protest in regional Victoria this weekend. Police arrested the woman, Zoe Buhler, at her home in Miners Rest near Ballarat on Wednesday after she created a “freedom day” event on Facebook calling for people to protest against the Victorian government’s lockdown measures … Video of the arrest shared on social media … shows a group of officers handcuffing Buhler in front her partner and children. In the video, Buhler becomes increasingly distressed as she tells officers she is pregnant.

The Age, Thursday:

(Ms Buhler said) “If the police had of just called me and told me to remove the post I would have done so.” … the Victorian Bar has written to Police Minister Lisa Neville to raise concerns … “The law in Victoria … is that a police officer is not entitled to use handcuffs on a person merely because an arrest has been made. The footage … portrays no threat posed by her conduct …,” said Wendy Harris QC, president of the Bar. Liberty Victoria has also expressed “deep concern” … “To describe this approach by police as heavy-handed is a gross understatement,” said Liberty Victoria senior vice-president Sam Norton.

The Australian, Thursday:

Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius (said) he had been briefed on the arrest, and he was “absolutely satisfied” the officers acted appropriately. Mr Cornelius admitted the optics of arresting a pregnant woman were “terrible” and never good but the woman had since been charged with serious criminal offences.

Seven Network Melbourne journo Nick McCallum, Twitter, August 28:

Love the plain speaking of Asst Comm Luke Cornelius describing anti mask protestors “boofheads”, “tin foil hat wearing brigade” and “batshit crazy”. He’s right. it’s great to see police pushing back against the protestors’ abuse and craziness.

Herald Sun, June 3:

Thirty thousand protesters are expected to pack the Melbourne CBD in a rally against black deaths in custody … Cornelius said while officers would take an “engaging and conciliatory approach” to policing the protest, their fundamental role was to “keep the city safe from harm”. “We respect the right everyone has to protest peacefully and lawfully,” Mr Cornelius said (and) police would “exercise their discretion” on whether to fine people for breaches. He said avoiding conflict would be the high priority. “We don’t want to be in enforcement mode, being robo-cop,” he said.

More McCallum, Twitter, June 12:

Excellent perspective from an excellent reporter. ABC News journalist Elias Clure on racism and the importance of a black reporter covering a Black Lives Matter protest

Sky News, Thursday:

Mr Cornelius justified his officers making a distinction between the Black Lives Matter protests … the decision to arrest (Ms Buhler) … “The bottom line was, we were then policing under rules that permitted public protest,” the Assistant Commissioner said. “You can quibble as much as you like in our approach to the BLM protest but we’re talking now about a context where there’s no wiggle room. You cannot leave to protest.”