A highly trained member of Victoria Police’s riot squad allegedly punched a protester in the throat and assaulted two others during a controversial rally in Melbourne last year, according to three fresh lawsuits against the force.
The trans-rights activists are suing Victoria Police in the County Court of Victoria over the incidents. They allegedly occurred during last year’s Let Women Speak rally, which became infamous after it was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
Court documents reveal the lawsuits accuse the police of breaching the human rights of the three protesters, who claim they were the victims of “unreasonable, disproportionate, and grossly excessive” force.
The trio are seeking unspecified damages and a declaration from Victoria Police that it illegally assaulted them.
A rally in March 2023 outside Parliament House erupted into violent clashes between protesters and police. (AAP: James Ross)
Their lawyer, Raagini Vijaykumar from Robinson Gill, said the alleged assaults were “completely unprovoked”.
“Everyone has a right to protest, it’s one of the fundamental rights in a democracy and our clients were exercising their right, and they were doing that peacefully,” Ms Vijaykumar said.
“I think the police’s actions on that day turned what was a peaceful, community-centred event into a violent, scary one where members of the public got seriously injured.”
Victoria Police is yet to file a defence and a spokesperson told the ABC it would be inappropriate to comment as the case is before the courts.
Rally erupts into violence after neo-Nazis gatecrash
In March 2023, protesters converged on the steps of the Victorian parliament, where British anti-trans rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen was speaking at a demonstration.
The event was attended by her supporters, people displaying anti-vaccine slogans and a large counter-rally in support of trans rights, and was watched over by a large contingent of police.
But clashes broke out between police and some protesters after the event was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, who repeatedly performed the Nazi salute.
One of the protesters suing police, Tim Neville, claimed he and other protesters were being moved towards Bourke Street by police when he was assaulted.
Mr Neville told the ABC that up until that point, he was already worried about appearing “antagonistic”.
“I didn’t want to have my hands raised above my head because I was worried that would seem like threatening body language or something, so I was just carefully walking backwards while the police were shoving me, pushing me,” Mr Neville said.
Tim Neville says he was retreating from police when he was allegedly assaulted. (ABC News)
Court documents claim that when Mr Neville, 29, reached a footpath, he moved a “short distance” towards officers when a member of the riot squad “lunged” at him and punched him in the throat.
“It felt incredibly painful,” Mr Neville said.
His lawyers claim the 29-year-old was not aggressive and posed no threat to police.
Footage captures moment of alleged assault
Footage collected by other activists, and seen by the ABC, shows Mr Neville surrounded by police officers when one of them allegedly strikes him, knocking him back into a metal bench.
The vision then shows the police officer’s colleagues pulling him back.
“The second he lunged at me, I just thought, ‘what can I do?’ Just take it. You can’t defend yourself in that situation, any attempt for me to block would have been me being in hand-to-hand combat with a protected police officer,” Mr Neville said.
“I didn’t want to get charged. I didn’t see any benefit to defending myself.”
His lawyer, Ms Vijaykumar, said the actions of the other police officers were of significant interest.
“When that officer lunged forward and punched him in the throat, there were other police officers standing around him,” Ms Vijaykumar said.
“We’re really keen to see whether any of them filed an internal complaint to Victoria Police.”
Raagini Vijaykumar says the alleged assaults at the protest were unprovoked. (ABC News)
Mr Neville said the alleged incident had left him tormented with anxiety.
“I’ve always had a strong political conscience and I go to protests in the city when I think they’re worth attending,” he said.
“And after that happened, [I] kind of felt like I couldn’t go anymore and I just sit there thinking … am I one of the more punch-able faces in the crowd, I’m a tall male, maybe that’s it.
“If I went to another protest … would people accuse me of … asking for it or something, even though I didn’t antagonise a thing.”
Second protester claims police officer ‘decked me in the face’
Another protester suing police, Catherine Robertson, claimed she was on the front line with other protesters on Spring Street when she was assaulted.
Court documents claimed Ms Robertson was chanting into a megaphone when the same riot squad officer, who allegedly assaulted Mr Neville, “roughly slapped the megaphone away” from her face.
In response, she “swore” at the officer and used the megaphone while facing him.
The court documents claim the riot squad officer then allegedly grabbed and pushed Ms Robertson and hit her in the face.
“He decked me in the face … open palm to my cheek,” Ms Robertson claimed to the ABC.
“It felt like having whiplash, it was a really violent impact, and it really knocked me about, I wasn’t sure what had happened.
“I didn’t think that anything had really occurred that would lead to me being struck by a police officer … it made me feel pretty powerless.”
Catherine Robertson claims she was assaulted while on the front lines of the protest. (ABC News)
In November 2023, police charged Ms Robertson with hindering and assaulting the riot squad officer, but the charges were dropped in January this year.
Ms Robertson said the prospect of criminal prosecution left her “paralysed”.
“I just started studying my masters of teaching, that’s an offence that would show up on my record,” she said.
“It can mean the difference between being employed or not being employed.”
Third protester alleges he was thrown to the ground, punched
The third protester suing police, David Edgley, said he was standing behind Ms Robertson when she was allegedly assaulted.
Mr Edgeley claimed he put his arms around Ms Robertson and tried to move her away when he was allegedly punched in the face twice by the same riot squad officer, according to court documents.
“He pushed the megaphone into her face in a really, really violent manner, and then grabbed her,” Mr Edgley claimed to the ABC.
“I just did what I think any decent human would do, like I saw an [alleged] assault happening and tried to stop it, and I moved forward to grab her and bring her back into into our line to protect her.
“As I did that, I was punched several times in the face, and as I was turning, was grabbed … then thrown to the ground. I was punched in the back of the head.”
David Edgley claims he suffered facial injuries following the alleged incident. (Supplied)
Mr Edgley later went back to find the police officer who had allegedly struck him, and took a photo.
Mr Edgley said when he contacted police to get the officer’s name for a complaint, he was instead given a phone number and told to ask the officer directly.
In a document filed with the court, Mr Edgley alleges that when he told the riot squad officer he would be making a complaint, the officer responded “aggressively”.
“How about you tell me what happened first,” the documents claimed the officer said.
David Edgley says his attempts to complain to the police force were rebuffed. (ABC News)
Lawyers for Mr Edgley claim the officer then refused to provide his first name or spell his surname and when their client asked why, the officer hung up.
Mr Edgley was also investigated by Victoria Police but was never charged, according to the court documents.