Melbourne’s most-recent anti-lockdown protest has been described as one of the most violent the city has experienced in 20 years according to Victoria Police’s top officer.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said his officers had no other choice than to use non-lethal weapons at the protest on Saturday, as they defended themselves from angry protestors who were armed.
Image: The Daily Aus
“What we saw yesterday … was probably one of the most violent protests we’ve seen in nearly 20 years,” he told reporters on Sunday.
At least nine officers have been sent to hospital after being struck by projectiles, punched, and kicked by some protestors who marched to protest the city’s newest COVID-19 lockdown.
Members of the mostly-unmasked, 4000-strong crowd lit flares, yelled slogans, and played loud music while making their way through Melbourne’s CBD.
Image: Getty Images
218 people have been arrested in relation to the protest, including some on remand for prior convictions.
At least 19 will head to court instead of being issued with $5,452 fines, with two people facing assault charges.
Mr Patton said it was clear the protestors were there to “confront and attack” police rather than protest their personal freedom, with many arriving at the protest armed with projectiles.
The injured police officers suffered blows to the body, cuts, bruises, suspected broken noses, a possible incident of unconsciousness, and a leg injury, with one of the nine officers still in hospital for further examination.
“It appears to us that they came in with an intention of that violence,” Mr Patton said.
“This wasn’t a group that had a specific leader. It seemed that it was angry men … between 25 and 40, who were intent on causing this mayhem, intent on being involved in this criminal activity.
“I just hope it doesn’t result in the mass spread of COVID-19.”
An attempted anti-lockdown protest also occurred in Sydney over the weekend, with NSW Police arresting 47 people and issuing 261 penalty infringement notices.
Officers issued 137 tickets from stopping around 38,000 cars hoping to enter Sydney’s CBD, while rideshare, taxi, and passenger services were prohibited from operating in the area.
A 32-year-old man was also arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting an officer, who was taken to hospital for head and neck injuries.
“That officer will be back at work quickly, which is again an indication of the determination of the NSW Police to be a big part of the solution to the challenging times we have,” Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said on Sunday.
On the NSW-Victoria border, five people were charged on Saturday following a small anti-lockdown protest in the town of Albury, while more than 2000 people attended a larger protest in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens against lockdown and vaccine measures.
The following day, about 1000 people gathered in Tweed Heads to protest the hard NSW-Queensland border.
Video footage from the protest shows officers dragging protestors away.
