Police brutality at Mardi Gras parade?

I'm not sure what to make of this. The video has caused a bit of a stir, leading to concerned people wanting to take the matter up with police. There's nothing in it though showing what lead up to the incident and why he was arrested in the first place. However you can't condone the police throwing a nearly naked handcuffed man on the ground and then standing on him. 



Fuckin police thugs. He has been charged with "Assaulting police" (oh the poor dears at the mercy of this giant of a naked man), "Resisting arrest" (the cops always load you up with that one), and "Offensive language". Wow, obviously a big time criminal here. We'll see I guess how those charges hold up in court.

Another man has claimed that police handled him roughly during Mardi Gras celebrations. Leaders in the gay community have expressed concern. 

"I'll be calling for an investigation," said the state MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich. "From what we can see it does appear to be heavy handed and extremely concerning." 

The video was uploaded by an account called SydneyMardiGras2013 which claims the footage was shot near Oxford Street about 11:30 pm on Saturday. 

Onlookers in the video can be heard protesting and alleging the man had been handled violently before the video started rolling. "We just saw you whack his head against the ground," a woman can be heard to say. "His blood is on the ground". 

Another police officer instructs the person behind the camera to "stop filming, mate". When asked why, the officer responds: "Cos I said". 

The chair of this year's Mardi Gras, Peter Urmson, said he would seek a meeting with police. "I've just seen the video myself and obviously have grave concerns," he said. "We're not gonna let this get swept under the carpet". 

Another gay activist spoke to Fairfax Media and alleged that up to five police held him down and kicked him, after he ignored their instructions to not cross a road. "I was kicked several times," he said. "I was handcuffed and had my face pushed into the ground. 

"I had a police officer leaning on me. I told him I couldn't breathe. He said, 'If you can talk you can breathe". Read more

They're going to do a police investigation as well, which will determine exactly nothing other then saying the cops did the right thing. A bloody joke.

Of course this would be very concerning, particularly with the history of the Mardi Gras and how it started in the first place; by the police clobbering people.

Update:

Here he is being interviewed about it, Jamie Jackson. 


 

Update 2:

GetUp is now involved. Sign their petition here. 

To: Mike Gallacher, Minister for Police and Emergency Services

We call on you to publicly investigate Police conduct at Sydney's Mardi Gras and the complaints made by members of the public about violence and police brutality. We call on you to ensure that all officers involved in misconduct are disciplined and that all police officers are properly trained in sensitivity to the LGBTQI community. sign