Disturbing footage has emerged of a Victoria Police officer quietly walking behind a man standing at Flinders Street station before violently tackling him head on the ground.
The short clip , which Victoria police chief commissioner say they are investigating, emerged overnight and is believed to have been filmed during the anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne yesterday .
The footage taken by an onlooker shows a male police officer approaching a man who was chatting calmly with several other police officers, grabs him by the shoulders and throws to the ground before other officers step in.
This police officer should be in prison @VictoriaPolice pic.twitter.com/xUKaU4zaCE
— Evan (@fictillius) September 22, 2021
It is unclear why the officer acted that way as the man doesn't appear to be aggressive or threatening.
“This poor guy was calm, he was just talking to the police,” the woman who posted the video on social media wrote in the caption. You can see it in the video then he gets thrown to the ground. You can hear his face hit the tiles. He was unconscious, blood and urine everywhere.”
Victoria police chief commissioner Shane Patton told 3AW today they were aware of the footage and investigating whether the officer's actions were appropriate.
"I don’t know what the full circumstances are."
"There is always a before and after with these matters, and context, and I think that's important."
He went on to praise officers for their overall conduct during the protests: "I couldn’t be prouder of them. What they’ve done and the way they’ve conducted themselves. Of course there’ll be incidents that appear, or may be inappropriate, but any of them that are, we will fully investigate.
