Police Brutality - Man bashed by police in Melbourne on Friday night - We need help from ATS members

ATS members, I need your help!

At 11:40pm on Friday the 10th July 09, in Richmond, Melbourne, on Swan Street, opposite "Post Office" bar and "Corner Hotel" my friends brother was sprayed with capsicum spray, handcuffed and had his knee broken by uniformed police officers.

Can any of you help in the following area's:

Finding witnesses and video footage of the incident

How to obtaining CCTV footage

Anyone with direct experience in dealing with the authorities in this kind of matter.

Details available at this time: (My friends brother will be called B):

B was having a drink at one of the hotels/bars mentioned above when a very violent arrest occurred in full view of the patrons at both bars.

Several officer (I am not sure of the exact numbers) had FULLY subdued and retrained an individual for reasons unknown at this time but then began to use excessive force whilst individual was prone and under control.

B approached the police to question the necessity of the violence.

Without a warning of any kind he was sprayed in the face with capsicum spray, thrown on the ground and handcuffed and then had his knee broken.

His girlfriend was frantic and in her panic tried to help B. She was told by the officers that if she didn't step away, B's other knee would be broken and that she would be next.

B was then put into the Police wagon, taken to the station and charged with resisting arrest.

B's knee has severely damaged and required surgery, with pins, plates and will need serious rehabilitation.

B and his family have sought legal support and advice and have filed the appropriate complaint.

Besides the charge of resisting arrest they have not had any further contact with the police.

I will update as soon as I am given new information.

Please, ATS members, help us with this if you can.

U2U me if any of you get any information on this.

Thanks!

Edit - Please flag this if you can so ATS members that may not normally look at the New World Order forum see this thread ... I really think that through 6 degrees, someone will know someone that saw this happen.

UPDATE - A witness has come forward

[edit on 13/7/09 by Horza]

[edit on 13/7/09 by Horza]

What you need to do is to contact the best lawyer you can afford as soon as you can.

That surely will help your situation the most.

Wow,

The broken knee thing.... just wow. We have some jackass cops that are tazer happy but kneebreaking for no damned reason! And threatening to "break" the other... shows you how much this officer abuses his authority.... and of course why not... who's going to challenge him? Nobody is going to do a damned thing about it and he knows it... (Provided the facts stated are 100% facts of course).

Thank freeking God I live in the USA. If that was me with the broken knee.... And if that animal would have touched my wife.... well wow, I wonder how I would react... a possible reaction to that given situation would be "return the kindness"... let's just say Thank God for our "Rights" in the USA and patience. (hypothetically of course! I usually don't talk this way but wrong is just wrong.)



[edit on 13-7-2009 by infolurker]

reply to post by Helious


Agreed ... that is what B's family is doing.

However, to have CCTV footage and/or video footage of what happened would be invaluable.

This incident happen on Friday night outside two busy bars.

Some one must have filmed it on their phone camera.

That's the type of footage we are hoping to find.

Originally posted by infolurker
Wow,

The broken knee thing.... just wow. We have some jackass cops that are tazer happy but kneebreaking for no damned reason!


[edit on 12-7-2009 by infolurker]

This is what I am flabbergasted about.

I know maybe B should have thought twice before questioning the cops over their unnecessary violence ... yes, I can see the argument he was asking for trouble.

But breaking his knee! And on purpose ... the police threaten to break his other knee so they knew what they had done.

Surely capsicum spray and the handcuffs where more than enough to get the message across!

And even that was excessive ... B had made no aggressive moves and had not threatened the officers in anyway ... all he was doing was asking "hey, do you have to be so violent?" ... a simple "Piss off mate or we will do the same to you" from the cops would have made most people move away

They attacked him and broke his knee on purpose.

There must be repercussions for this!

Make contact to your local media. As local as possible and ask for any footage from the area. Then you should go to the scene and take camera. Take pictures of any cctv cameras around and the scene in overall. Then start making contact with the owners of those cctv's, make sure you do this quickly so the tapes aren't reused. Even if you don't get a copy of the tape make sure you say that this is under investigation so they will shelve the footage.

reply to post by Horza


Go talk to the bartenders. They usually know the regulars who may have witnessed the event. You need as many witnesses as you can find.

reply to post by Horza


Hi Horza

I really feel for your brother and all your family at this time.

Was there any write up in the papers about this? Usually whenever police use capsicum spray it makes the news, especially if excessive force was used.

Might shed some light on what led up to this and help identify potential eye witnesses.

When you go around say that your brother was assaulted. Don't mention by whom. If they ask say it's still under investigation and that's why you need evidence.

That's terrible if I was in a situation like that I'd most likely beat the living hell out of the cop.
I'm sorry to hear that the boys in blue did that to your friends brother.

Thanks to all for your replies so far

Some good advice there and I will pass it on to my friend.

It's hard to think straight when you really, really pissed off so all ideas and suggestions are very welcome.

Keep it coming!

I should be hearing from the family soon, so update on the way

There is definately something going on with the Police here in Oz.
There are plenty of instances on Youtube alone of Cops out of control.

Brisbane police are the worst.
It seems to be spreading like a disease to other States.
Wonder what their agenda is?

I really hope your friend takes it all the way and nails them.

[edit on 13-7-2009 by Flighty]

THese kind of stories are so frustrating... Good people being attacked by so-called law enforcement....

My advice would be this.

My sister is a NSW police officer (who for the record HATES most other cops coz of their over the top actions) and she would tell you that B is going to have a VERY hard time getting ANY sort of justice here.

If this case ends up in court it will be B's word against the cops word - trust me, B has ZERO chance of winning that battle - personal experience and my sister's stories and experiences .

CCTV footage is the ONLY avenue you have. Chances are though, if it is likely to get a police officer into serious trouble then you wont be able to access the footage without a fight.

There will be as many hurdles put in your way as possible in the hope you lose interest and stop pursuing the footage.

This is just how it works.

Still, maybe speak to club/bar owners - they should be aware of all cameras filming their buisness. They should be able to tell you how to access the footage.


I say if you have the time and resources then pursue this as hard as possible. Maybe even contact TV networks who are keen on the story for the 'Today Tonight'/'A Current Affair' type programs/trash ...

Good luck - keep us posted

As updated in OP - A witness has come forward ... details later

Great news and I hope this means the start of a snowball.

What you should do is go back to the scene of the crime and look for cctv cameras from shops etc then ask if they will let you see the footage.

[edit on 13-7-2009 by Pointman]

Aussie cops, from my experience, are usually not as violent as their overseas counterparts (possibly because us Aussies generally don't do much as a whole ).

But sadly there are some bad apples in every bunch. I hope that 'B' makes a full recovery in time, and in the mean time, I hope he makes a ****load of money from this case against the Police.

Make them pay. Make the offending police lose their jobs, their pension and the respect of their fellow officers.

[edit on 13-7-2009 by fooffstarr]

Good luck, sounds like another bad cop is about to be sent to the pokey

Originally posted by Horza
reply to post by Helious

 

Agreed ... that is what B's family is doing.

I have been through all this.
1. It is very important to get witnesses. As many as possible.
2. Go back to that place and see if there are any CCTV cameras. You must obtain the footage before police gets their hands on it. Do it NOW!!!
3. Go back and speak with staff working on that street that night. They might have witnessed the incident or they might know someone who did.
4. Get the medical records of injuries (all of them), make copies and certify them - they might gonna disappear from the hospital.
5. I am not sure about Australia, but in my country there is a special medical expertise statement needed to prosecute a police officer...

The conclusions of the medical experts are needed as soon as possible while injuries are fresh.
-------------------

What else. Solicitor and name of the officer would be useful. Their car reg number as well. See if you can get the footage of the police car.

Hope this helps. It helped me.


Oh, and most important thing - you must report it to the police, do they can start the investigation.

[edit on 13-7-2009 by FIFIGI]

B is protected under the same laws as in Canada(I think). You need to contact the people or Robert Menard at Freeman-On-The-Land and get to their Forum and ask questions.

I would also Sugjest everyone watch all these Information Videos

Know your Rights, because if you don't know them, then you don't have any.

[edit on 13-7-2009 by BugByte]

[edit on 13-7-2009 by BugByte]

That's just crap man. But there's some good advise in the posts above. The only other thing I would suggest is get the media involved. It's amazing how much grease they are able to apply to the cogs and gears. Maybe organising a demonstration of supporters outside the police station would get their attention.

Good luck, keep us posted, S&F.