A peaceful activist and protestor, Danny Lim, was yesterday subjected to a violent attempt to arrest him by the NSW Police in the Queen Victoria Building in the Sydney CBD. Mr Lim suffered injuries including a subdural hematoma and has been in hospital since the assault awaiting further test results. A letter from the Greens to the Police Minister and Commissioner is attached.
Greens MP and Spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said "The actions by the NSW Police yesterday were completely out of line and an indication of just how dangerous new police powers are to the vulnerable in our society,
"The NSW Police have backflipped on their commitment made just yesterday, to hold an independent review of the assault. Instead they have decided to consider it as a complaint and review it internally without any oversight from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission,
"This type of violent arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere. It is so important to have independent oversight of police operations to ensure that this type of violence is properly investigated and prosecuted if a crime has been committed,
"The types of injuries that can be sustained during violent arrests can be permanently debilitating or even deadly. In 2019/20 the NSW Police were subject of 298 civil suits that alleged a variety of actions including assault, battery, unlawful imprisonment and malicious prosecution. This is more than one each weekday of the year,
"The Greens have written to the Minister for Police and the Commissioner seeking their assurance that this incident will be independently investigated and highlighting the dangerous lack of oversight for the NSW Police," Ms. Higginson said.
