As someone who in times gone by has been injured by the police I'd have to support Jamie on this one and not the police. Obviously to kick and punch someone is wrong, but the whole reason for his arrest in the first place was wrong; tickling people on the back. WTF were the cops arresting someone for that for? Especially at an extravagant event such as the Mardi Gras. IMO Jamie was simply trying to get away as he saw no reason to be arrested (that sounds familiar actually - remember Curti?) as I didn't in my case.
Then it follows the same old police fuckin strategy: straight to violence. They seem to be at war with the community, not helping it. And what violence! The guy is just an 18 year old kid, all of 60 kilos, and the cop throws him around like a rag doll. It's quite true that he could have died had his head hit the ground (remember he was handcuffed). The cops have a duty of care, well they're supposed to.
Besides that wasn't the only incident that night. Meet Bryn Hutchinson:
...until last month was co-convener for Community Action Against Homophobia – the group that organises and holds large regular marriage equality rallies in central Sydney – has told Same Same that about 11.25pm on Saturday he was unexpectedly set upon by up to five police officers from Parramatta Local Command as he crossed the Oxford Street near the intersection of Crown Street.All this for crossing the fuckin street? Why did they have to arrest him for that? Then he doesn't even get charged with anything except assaulting the police? What about crossing the road? That'd look good in court wouldn't it, somebody fronts up to defend themselves crossing the fuckin road. The magistrate would laugh it out of court.
Hutchinson, 32, was with his partner, his sister and her friend when they decided to leave a Taylor Square hotel just after 11pm. Hutchinson, who is soon to commence studies for his PhD at the University of Sydney in the field of Bioethics, says he was not drunk or disorderly, or offensive or rude in any way, when the incident occurred.
“I had a few drinks but I certainly didn’t break the law,” he said.
“I had begun crossing the road and was just about at the middle when a police officer approached me and told me not to cross the road.
“Usually Oxford Street is open to foot traffic at that stage of the Parade. There was no signage or barriers, no marking tape.”
The Mardi Gras Parade info page states: “Once crossing points are closed, you will not be able to cross the parade route until the parade ends at approximately 10:30pm.” Hutchinson, who stands at 169cm and weighs only 65 kgs, said after a brief conversation with the police officer during which he said he was simply crossing the road he decided to continue to the other side.
“I can’t remember if he said anything more, but basically it was a verbal interchange and there was no physical contact. Then I was grabbed from behind by several police officers and then thrown onto the ground on my back. Then another police officer was leaning over me and threatening to charge me. I don’t know what he wanted to charge me with. I just kept saying I wanted to simply cross the road.
“They then turned me onto my front and pressed my face into the road, held me tightly by putting my arms behind my back and then folded my legs up. That’s when a number of police officers kicked me. There was approximately three. I couldn’t see them all but witnesses have told me since that there was up to five of them.
“I was hogtied and then they pushed my face into the concrete,” he adds.
“They were applying weight onto my back and I couldn’t breathe properly. I said I can’t breathe properly, and one of the officers said, ‘If you can talk, you can breathe’. I wasn’t resisting any sort of police intervention but I was really struggling to breathe. They didn’t stop applying the pressure and they had also kicked me.”
“I was still face down on the road when they handcuffed me,” he continues. “They put the cuffs on too tight, and have caused my wrists and hands to swell up and bruise. I screamed out, ‘You have the cuffs on too hard’. I also shouted very loudly, ‘What are you charging me with?’ Basically to get attention from the crowd as I was being beaten up by police.”
Hutchinson was then pulled up and pushed to a waiting police vehicle near the Colombian Hotel before being transported to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged with assaulting police while in the back of the police wagon.
“They asked me for my ID and wallet which I didn’t have, but they confiscated my phone,” he claims. “I kept asking them what they are charging me with, and then one of the officers, Sergeant Ludlin from Parramatta Police, said he was charging me with assaulting police. He said, ‘You put your leg around me, don’t you remember that?’
“I don’t have any memory of putting my legs around any officers but if I did I would imagine it was a reflex when the others were pushing me back. He was in front of me. I would like to see some footage of the incident.
“It was excessive force. If they are charging me with assault police I find it bizarre they didn’t charge me with failure to comply with police directions or resisting arrest. I think they decided to charge me as they realised they had taken things too far by kicking me and are maybe trying to intimidate me.” more
And he has pictures.
This is BS about you deserve what you get if you don't obey the police anyway. Is this a police state now? What are they fuckin god? It's obvious to me some of them think so.
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