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A judge has found Victoria Police were “aggressors” who used “unjustified violence” to attack anti-lockdown protestors during the Covid pandemic.

The comments related to an incident back in May, 2021, when Melbourne was in the midst of harsh lockdowns.

A huge police contingent confronted 150 protestors in the city, during which scuffles broke out, and among those arrested were three men accused of assaulting police.

But a judge said on Friday that evidence against the men was inadmissible because footage from the police officers’ own body cameras showed the men were reacting to “unlawful violence instigated” by police.

Unlawful Violence

County Court Judge Liz Gaynor said police could have dealt with the protesters without resorting to violence:

“It could have been done by the issuing of infringement notices at any stage… informing them that they were in breach of the restrictions and that they were to be placed under arrest.

“However, the police chose not to respond that way. I am satisfied that in arresting Mr Reeves, police used unnecessary and unwarranted force and violence.

“They simply confronted, pushed, and attacked him before bringing him to the ground. In my view, they used unlawful violence in arresting Mr Reeves.”

It’s good that the citizens arrested will not be convicted of assault.

But it raises the question, will the police involved in what the judge called “unlawful violence” now face consequences?

Or are Victoria Police above the law?

And what about all the other incidents of police brutality we saw during the pandemic?

It isn’t much more serious than charges of police brutality. The comments by Judge Gaynor suggest there’s a need for a wide-ranging inquiry, or dare I say it, a Royal Commission.

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Republished with thanks to The James Macpherson Report.

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