Victoria's police union has slammed what it called "criminal" actions of anti-lockdown protestors in Melbourne yesterday after disturbing videos of unreasonable and unnecessary use of physical force by Victoria Police started trending on social media, drawing criticism from all quarters.
Videos circulating on social media show a woman being doused in capsicum spray after she was pushed to the ground by an officer as she laid defenceless on the road trying to shield her eyes.
More footage has since surfaced and one below show a man being tackled to the ground following a wild police chase by dozens of police officers, he then puts his hands in the air with no violence or threat but was quickly surrounded by police who used physical force against him.
Surprisingly, instead of calling for proper investigation to the police violence and brutality, Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said "they weren't protest activities, they were criminal acts."
He also apparently dismissed the core principle of the reasonable force defined in law, saying "We need to stop nancy-pansying around these people, and we need to stop this needless debate about the proportionality, issues of what's right and what's wrong".
Premier Daniel Andrews also called it an "outstanding job" of Victoria Police: "I think police did us proud yesterday".
Note: Everybody understands and appreciates police officers’ putting their own lives at risk to protect members of the community, but it is hard to justify the use of unnecessary and excessive force against fellow Australians in these cases, especially where, as seen in many videos online, there are no threats or resistance against police. It can be argued that police intervention is what turned otherwise peaceful protests violent.
Australian🇦🇺 police saving an elderly woman from Covid: pic.twitter.com/9Fu96by4Py
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) September 19, 2021
Watch Victoria Police push over a 70 yr old woman then douse her in capsicum spray after she hits her head on the ground, and tell me you still think they’re heroes. They should be charged with assault. #auspol #freedomrally #Melbourneprotest #vicpol pic.twitter.com/uXz0ks1dXq
— Joel Agius (@Joel_Agius1) September 19, 2021
Here's a direct view pic.twitter.com/wlsq9GGITR
— PureDuckFat (@ripple83) September 19, 2021
Tax dollars hard at work today.
Serve and protect. pic.twitter.com/3VnBpA03vo— Voice For Victoria (@Voice4Victoria) September 18, 2021
A protestor steps in to defend another and gets assaulted and arrested by Vic Pol pic.twitter.com/fSdTlbG7QX
— JamesJD (@JamesJDfullstop) September 19, 2021
@VictoriaPolice These officers, who are not wearing masks, are the ones responsible for assaulting a 74 year old woman. They need to be dismissed and charged.#CovidVictoria #COVID19 #FreeAustralia pic.twitter.com/RxcGqAg1vt
— TheWorldIsCrazy (@Convict025) September 19, 2021
The Melbourne government stopped the railway from moving to try to prevent this the #freedomrally and yet the numbers who arrived were still high. pic.twitter.com/HNsevrqYv9
— Syrian Girl 🇸🇾🎗 (@Partisangirl) September 19, 2021
