Coronavirus Australia: Highest level of nonlethal force deployed at Melbourne protest; Sydney rallies suppressed
NSW rallies were suppressed in a major crackdown, but six Victoria Police were hospitalised amid wild scenes in Melbourne.
Victoria Police have deployed the most powerful nonlethal force available to dispel anti-lockdown protests after officers fired pepper ball rounds into crowds in Melbourne CBD on Saturday.
Pepper ball rounds, which are described as the “leader in nonlethal solutions”, are nonlethal projectiles, which are filled with a chemical that irritates the eyes much like pepper spray, and can be fired by a munition launcher that looks like a pistol.
The projectiles incapacitate its target by irritating the nose and eyes, inducing coughing, and making it difficult to breathe.
Police confirmed that it had used levels of nonlethal force never before deployed at “freedom” protests before, including OC foam and pepper ball rounds, at the protest which saw 218 arrests and 236 fines issued after an estimated 4000 protesters stormed the Melbourne CBD.
“For the first time during lockdown protests, police were forced to use a range of nonlethal options including pepper ball rounds and OC foam canisters in an effort to disperse the crowd,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
Pepper spray projectiles have been deployed by the US army and marines in Afghanistan, as well as in by police against anti-Trump protesters and have been linked to one death.
Manufacturer PepperBall described the nonlethal weapon as “a game-changer” that can be used when “fast action can often stop an incident from spiralling out of control”.
Seven officers sustained injuries during Saturday’s protest, including two with suspected broken noses, one with a broken thumb and others with concussions, with six requiring hospitalisation.
Three people out of those arrested were charged with assaulting a police officer, while one was charged with breaching bail conditions.
The protests which took more than three hours to suppress and saw activists run riot across the Melbourne CBD congregating at major intersections on Elizabeth St and the Queens Victoria market before dispersing.
Demonstrators — many of them unmasked — came to a stand-off with police outside the Young and Jackson pub at the tram stop opposite Flinders Street Station before police deployed nonlethal force.
Riot police carrying shields used capsicum spray on a group of activists who have been yelling obscenities at officers while other protesters — many brandishing Eureka and Red Ensign flags — came to blows with police on Melbourne streets as the protest gathered pace.
Crowds brandishing anti-lockdown and anti-health order conspiracy slogans, while cries to “sack Dan Andrews” rang out.
“No health advice = no compliance,” one sign said.
Another protester drove a truck with an electronic sign through the crowd that switched between “No mandatory vaccines” and “Ivermectin can end the pandemic”.
“Open schools and parks now,” another sign said.
Sydney protests suppressed
In Sydney, a violent protest was suppressed by a major NSW Police crack down which saw 47 people charged and 260 fined in the CBD on Saturday.
More than 1500 officers were deployed across Sydney to patrol major roads in bid to prevent protesters from gathering in the city centre, pulling over 38,000 vehicles and issuing about 130 fines.
Police clashed with protesters near Victoria Park at about midday where the group of anti-lockdown “freedom” protesters attempted to gather in a repeat of an illegal protest held at the end of last month, making several arrests.
Police swooped on one protest organiser arresting Anthony Khallou, 29, who runs conspiracy site Australians vs The Agenda, on Thursday after The Australian revealed he had snuck into Sydney from Queensland for the event.
A man who shouted, “is this democracy?†as a protester was arrested has been arrested @australian#VictoriaParkpic.twitter.com/jPJr6V1iG8
— Joseph Lam (@editorialjoe) August 21, 2021
An exclusion zone prohibiting public transport and rideshares was in place between 9am and 3pm on Saturday, with all trains city bound stopping at Central Station.
Despite this, The Australian witnessed about 200 people circulating around Victoria Park at midday, a group mostly dressed in black, whose anger has been simmering over eight weeks of lockdown.
It was shortly after Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced there had been 825 new locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases in NSW that the first big clash began.
A man was taken to the ground and arrested by several officers in the middle of the intersection between Parramatta road and City street, while another man shouted to the crowd, “is this democracy?”.
That same man carried on his preaching, calling for police to think about their actions: “Have a think about this, is this the country that you want?”
After he ignored move-along orders, he was taken into the park by force where he was searched, questioned and is understood to have been arrested by Police.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,†shouts a man at Victoria Park â¦@australianâ© pic.twitter.com/sOOh7osTMz
— Joseph Lam (@editorialjoe) August 21, 2021
A crowd who had gathered on Parramatta road across from Victoria Park grew increasingly violent watching these arrests and began taunting police, shouting profanities and calling police “Nazis”.
Officers from the park swarmed the crowd, targeting the most vocal of protesters, with several large men taken in for questioning.
A woman wearing a pink singlet was wrestled to the ground by several officers while she screamed and resisted arrest.
Police arrest a woman across from Victoria Park @australian#VictoriaParkpic.twitter.com/z0NVdTpKUl
— Joseph Lam (@editorialjoe) August 21, 2021
Tensions continued to flare for sometime until police completely blocked off a section on Parramatta road. Coupled with the rideshare and public transport bans, it crippled the protest and before long it was largely quiet.
While plans for a second protest in Parramatta began to circulate on social media, the lack of public transport and rideshare ban largely curbed those efforts.
Centenary Square, the meeting point on a flyer advertising the protest, was all but deserted at the original meeting time of 2pm. Instead, about a dozen officers stood waiting while a helicopter patrolled from above.
A social media group in which the plans were shared appeared to have been infiltrated by police who called for a second protest location outside Parramatta Police headquarters, 1 Charles Street.
Not a protester in sight at Centenary Square in Parrammatta despite a flyer in circulation from protest organisers pic.twitter.com/72UGP6RqPi
— Joseph Lam (@editorialjoe) August 21, 2021
NSW Police Minister David Elliot said the crackdown on the planned anti-lockdown ‘freedom’ rally had “worked to perfection”.
“This is not about stopping freedom of speech, it’s about a temporary stop to the freedom of movement,” he said.
“We saw the community backlash after the last protest and that was a genuine reflection of how they saw the actions of a small minority.”
A 32-year-old Five Dock man, who was apprehended at Mountain Street in Ultimo at about 12.30pm, was charged with assaulting an officer after an altercation with police turned violent and saw one officer sustain neck and head injuries.
Back in Melbourne, Victoria Police said the days events would not be tolerated as the state recorded 61 cases on Saturday, with at least 17 more being announced later that same day, as the outbreak spread further into the regions.
“While there were some peaceful protesters in attendance, the majority of those who attended came with violence in mind,” the police spokesperson said.
“The behaviour seen by police was so hostile and aggressive that they were left with no choice but to use all tactics available to them.”
Police said investigations will continue into who was responsible for several flares being ignited on city streets.
Each protester issued with an infringement notice will be fined $5452 for breaching health directions.
Further up the coast, more than 5000 protesters gathered in Brisbane’s City Botanic Gardens on Saturday, through no arrests were made after restrictions were eased further on Friday.
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