The Guardian
Tue 11 August 2020 08.09 BST
Victoria police have arrested and charged a young woman in Melbourne who was captured on video allegedly being choked and pinned to the ground by a police officer.
Tue 11 August 2020 08.09 BST
Victoria police have arrested and charged a young woman in Melbourne who was captured on video allegedly being choked and pinned to the ground by a police officer.
In video footage posted initially on social media, the woman – who was subsequently found to have had an exemption for wearing a face mask – can be heard shouting “He’s choking me” as she was arrested on Wellington Street in Collingwood on Monday evening.
Over the course of roughly five minutes, the officer can be seen holding the woman around the neck, sweeping her to the ground and kneeling on her back during the arrest.
An onlooker in one video told police: “You are choking her … she’s got an excuse for not wearing a mask, she went to the doctor yesterday.”
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On Tuesday, Victoria police said the St Kilda woman was stopped because patrolling officers saw her without a face covering. In a statement, police said the woman “did not state” that she had an exemption at the time of the arrest, and refused to provide identification.
The arrest has been referred to an internal police review body, the Professional Standards Command.
“Officers were patrolling on Wellington Street when they observed a 21-year-old woman not wearing a face covering about 5pm on 10 August,” police said in a statement.
“Police made the decision to arrest the woman after she failed to provide her name and address. She also did not state she had an exemption for not wearing a face covering.
“She then became physically aggressive and kicked a female officer to the upper body. The woman continued to resist arrest and had to be taken to ground before being arrested. The female officer was transported to hospital for observation.”
The woman has been charged with resisting police and assaulting police. She was not fined for not wearing a mask due to having an exemption.
She has been granted bail and will appear in court at a later date.
