Police violence
Under the law, police can use "reasonable" violence in some circumstances. "Unreasonable" violence is illegal. Is it "reasonable" to kneel on a protester's head, as this photo of a police officer at a Melbourne protest shows?
The laws of defamation and other laws exist which prevent Copwatch from showing some photos and publishing some information. As the police are known to conduct surveillance operations of peaceful activists, some of us fear that the police know our identities and fear legal action or other retaliation if we make certain information public. We hope for future, happier times, when such restrictions do not exist.
The following links are to publicly known examples of the police using force and where that has become a subject of public comment. Copwatch makes no comment on whether the force or violence used is unreasonable. We are always happy to speak to journalists in confidence.
Further reading
Fears about the militarisation of the police force has been expressed by the federal police union. AFP union attacks Afghanistan role by Paul Maley The Australian 7 December 2009.
Police slammed on "going in hard" by Milanda Rout and Julie-Anne Davies The Australian 31 July 2009 (no apparent web link). A copy of this Victorian report can be found at the Victorian Office of Police Integrity.
For an Australian 60 minutes report on the Sydney-based Public Order and Riot Squad.
Police tactics under fire at Hazelwood by Peter Ker, The Age, 14 September 2009.
Police violence at G20 Pittsborgh.
Ian Tomlinson
Ian Tomlinson was the bystander during a G20 protest in London who died following a police assault on 1 April 2009 in the UK. No police officer has been charged in relation to his assault and subsequent death.
The story was initially aired by the Guardian newspaper and the Guardian played a major role in keeping the story alive.
No police officer has been charged in relation to the assault and death of Ian Tomlinson.
Another example of police aggression is the use of overly strict interpretations of the law to arrest protesters. In this video Office 'Bubbles' from Toronto arrests a woman who assaulted him with a bubble.
