Police have defended the use of pepper spray during ugly scenes between officers and protesters following yesterday's Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney.Police said otherwise the event was "largely peaceful"Footage emerged last night of tension between police and rallygoers as the authorities were attempting to herd people through Central Station about 6:10pm.A 21-year-old man from Mt Druitt was arrested and charged with offensive behaviour and resisting police.
"Police attempted to quell the situation and move those persons on. One of the males chose to act aggressively towards police at which time he was placed under arrest," he said. "I support the use of the capsicum spray and the way police responded in order to ensure there was not further violence." Acting Commissioner Lanyon said during patrols near Central Station, at Eddy Avenue and Pitt Street, one officer was struck in the face with a can of drink, while another was struck with a bottle.
Cunning stunt framing.
Why are you like this? They’re still going to defund you even if you do take their side.
Protestors aren't punching bags, either.
Yeah but your officers think it's ok to use civilians as punch bags you hypocrite
The NSW Govt should have stopped public transport stopping at all city stations
We all know that the protestors shouldn't have been in the city in the first place. They are endangering the rest of the community if they are not isolating
Nor are protesters or citizens on the way home.
nah they're a paramilitary that gets to assualt the public with impunity. if you're reporting stays this shit you'll quickly become not worth saving
Broadband_ I must agree, ''Police aren't punching bags'' More accurately these NSW police are absolute scumbags NSWfascistpolice blacklivesmatteraustralia ...
I've been treated as a punching bag for a cop.....I give some back every chance I can......😎
Perfectly reasonable for those cops to defend themselves, there was a real risk to the safety of their egos.
I agree. Don’t blame all police for the actions of the few. ALL LIVES MATTER! Should be the cry. Peaceful demos only
what a load of bull, the disgraceful corrupt police herded people into a confined space, and where the frack are their masks? thugs
The police are not to blame for all this. It’s only individualS. Why don’t people use their votes instead of riots to vote out the rat bag political men and women who are so busy lining their pockets that they allow things like this to happen.
Oh do fuck right off.
I must have missed the photo/video of a protestor trying to punch them... I’m assuming it exists because if it doesn’t you just published an unsubstantiated claim as a headline... 🤔
i normally respect your news organisation but that headline is immediately putting blame on the protesters and defending the police who were in the wrong
Police pepper sprayed a disabled lady who was crying out on TV! People aren't either. Police seem to pick on the indefensible! Cowards.
Not with the godawful training they receive. Imagine being a cop and not being proficient enough to handle unarmed protesters without the use of arms yourself. Anyone that has lived in a suburb with a lot of public housing and domestic violence knows how useful cops are in AUS🙄
ABC you normally are the voice the aboriginal community needs. Why are you being so deceptive now?
As andrewprobyn would say, a Petri dish was formed to test community spread of COVID-19 by thousands of virtue signallers - and this is the thanks they get
Just bullshit. Why did they kettle them in Central and what did they expect to happen?
True. But only 1 state or territory police force felt compelled to deploy capsicum spray in people's faces on Saturday. It just happens to be the same state where the Minister for Police and his Commissioner boast proudly of scaring children by stripsearching them. NSWpol
Nsw police asked for everything that they got and they can consider themselves extremely lucky that they have an Honest Police Commisioner In BinBoyFuller
The protest was peaceful until the police instigated violence by using chemical weapons on protesters.
“Acting NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon alleged there were a number of people acting 'aggressively and inciting police' “. So they were goaded into using the capsicum spray? I can yell at you all I like. That doesn’t mean you can assault me. Absolutely disgraceful.
Blsht ABCaustralia this was a complete setup and your lying if you don’t expose it.
That's what you came up with? What a waste of uniform!!!! Shame on you nswpolice
Thugs get everything they deserve, looting animals
Go Way ABC. You've lost all credibility
Police are not punching bags.
Aboriginal people aren’t either.
1.5 meters people
Police are never punching bags and it’s a shame they are seldom honest... they appear to have bottled up people who were returning to their homes. That’s called picking a fight and bullying... I bet they were hoping to strip search sone children next...
Neither are non cops but doesn't stop cops beating up on ppl
Police are right, those people putting Australian life into risks by the mass gathering.
stop with this media smear campaign bullshit to victimise the police force. they aggravated and trapped peaceful protestors who were trying to go home.
We all know the best way to curb violence is to start using violence first, am I right folks
Ok let us use pepper spray and batons too then and it’ll be a fair fight
No, protesters are.- that same fucker
But the reporters aren't victims of pepper spray Works in every country/region, period
Wow, you just pass around the same tired script from country to country.
I had a friend who wasn’t protesting but near the station. Says police started flanking the station and trapping people in who were heading home. He hauled his ass out of there.
Setup, setup, investigation needed, Liberal minds behind this, so childish, just thugs.
Created by police, need not have been there to create the environment they wonted, totally provocative, why when they have left the march to go home, total setup.
Revealing that it was the police who were the violent ones at the Sydney protest against racial violence.
Protesters aren’t meals that need pepper
How about reporting what happened? Not regurgitating the BS fed to you by NSW Police!
Nor are people protesting
Weirdly, civilians are also not punching bags. Yet here we are.
Shame ABC. Quote 1 protestor, use one unclear, from the distance piece of video when there are many eyewitness accounts and much footage and many photos. You give 6 paras of the police lies before you quote your one other eyewitness. Weak. You are no longer providing balance.
Where's the police body cam footage/station security footage showing the protesters 'ongoing violence ' at the railway station that justified the pepper spray? Should be pretty easy to provide footage as proof?
Not punching bags, sure But many of them are violent. Many of them are criminals. Many of them bring disrepute to the force. Many of them should be in gaol.
I saw the footage. Looks like he’s grinning
Was it the cops blocking in BlackLivesMattters protesters or was it protesters blocking off the cops? Sounds more like a press secretary statement than a journalistic article.
We know, their wives are.
Those police should be charged with forcing citizens into a confined space during a pandemic... it's one thing to choose how close you're willing to get to others, but being forced to is something else.
Did they need to be at the railway station at all?
How about some actual, professional, critical, journalism instead of just regurgitating statements thanks ABC. Your coverage of this incident is piss poor. Fix it!
Now the world fights itself again-Their were once 2 brother who went about to bridged the devide of race & inequality-Their attempt would stop a Nation & indeed the world-One of these brothers Had a VISION OF EQUALITY-what was his reward-Who was he‼️JFK‼️Welcome to Australia😔⚖️
Police were NOT being punched. You damned liars, ABC.
This is gross bias, ABC. Gross. The footage clearly shows police kettling peaceful protesters and spraying them for no reason. The ABC is not a news service of record.
The police were pissed that the march was made legal - this was a good way for them to cope with ‘having a bad day’
It didn’t require a police presence
Explain then why there were so many police at Central Railway, looks like many more than protesters.
No but they don't mind giving it do they
Oh was he just having a bad day too
abc not even pretending to be neutral anymore lol
The protest was about police abuse and the police through their actions validated the protest.
Outright lies.
If the police had not pushed the people leaving the protest march into the space they would not have been punching bags. The police should have just left it was over
What an irresponsible heading and article.
No but 40% of their wives are 🤫
The police aren't punching bags. The public are punching bags.
Not one single report of ANYONE being punched yet this is the excuse for using chemical weapons on Australian citizens these officers are paid to 'serve and protect'.
Am I the only one now who’s thinking that most of these clowns, and I’m not talking about peaceful protestors but the kack that deliberately cause trouble, now wear masks to thwart identification and not because their good citizens by minimising the spread of Covid 19?😝
Wow, police with all their weapons who assault peaceful protestors & then spray people with pepper spray after boxing them in a tight closed in area & it's 'Police aren't punching bags'? More like, it's a democratic right to protest in Australia & protestors aren't punching bags!
'Police aren't punching bags' says cop while pepper spraying protestors, using them as punching bags
🤦🏻♀️
spray all of the scum
This is a deeply embarrassing article from our National Broadcaster
How come there are no pics of protestors punching police as claimed?
Do a pepper spray test on live TV on a newsroom. You will definitely say NO you can spray anyone with this crap unless you are at WAR
‘ABC aren’t journalists’.
If the police weren't there no doubt protesters would have quietly caught their train home.FFS 🙄
Good to see Aussie cops not TakeAKnee to the mob
They are not punching bags.
They are punching bags if complying citizens are too
So how does the Acting Comm’r respond with so many phone videos on Social Media showing Police kettling ppl into the Concourse level of Central Station, blocking exits, taunting all & taking the first acts of violence at the crowd? How about U GladysB who’s obviously silent?
Protesters threw a brick on an police car inside an underground train station.... Right....
Did you interview a single protester for this piece?
I’m assuming you’ve seen the footage of the incident - can you explain how the pepper spray was responding to not causing violence or explain the claim of police being “punching bags”? If there’s some evidence of it please include in the article to assist our understanding.
I highly recommend listening to this podcast. Toward the end they discuss how the state essentially has a monopoly on violence and often uses it unlawfully under the guise of 'law & order'.
Except they didn't use it on protesters, they trapped people going home in the train station and sprayed them. They trapped people trying to catch a train. And they picked trains thry knew were going to poor areas. There were protesters there, and there were other too, going home
To be fair. NSW police have a long history of an even handed approach. Most notably recently with their approach to children at music festivals. The caring way they embraced the first Mardi gras in Sydney. The list is long.
A likely klan sam_armytage Erin_Molan axle_whitehead ....just remember 9NewsAUS Channel7
Why does a cop get space but couldn’t get a single non white voice on Insiders?
Did they really manage the situation in the best way though?
Amazing how different these reports are. And only one of them quotes protesters as well as police.
Fuck the ABC. The only people benefiting from its service are the government and rural whites.
Release the body cam videos. The Thug Blue Line planned and executed the attack on the rally attendees. The protestors had not attacked police beforehand. PoliceBrutalityPandemic blacklivesmattersydney
Who punched them?
one step closer to State owned news broadcaster
Stop lying
Why use pepper spray, the foot sweep is the go apparently?
Curious. Is that literal? If so, please tell us who was punching the police. If not literal, they trapped and maced peaceful protesters because the protest hurt their feelings?
I think nswpolice needs to learn who the 'servants' are here. The gov treats us, the people, as expendable commodities 🖕😠🖕
Ahh, this old canard that the police trot out everytime their deliberate provocation exposes their brutality. And the NSW police wonder why their reputation is garbage. auspol
Neither are our citizens!!!
Nor are citizens
oh look, more absolute trash from SarahTtheWriter stenography isn't 'writing', sarah
I have seen and read first hand accounts of what transpired and not one shred of evidencr thst any violence or threat was aimed at the police. Why are you gaslighting us? Where are your standards? Why are you damaging our democracy? Shame on you.
Good job, spray those lefties! Protest against everything... This street party was just selfish, we are all home sticking to the rules and they pull this crap!
SarahTtheWriter did you attempt to speak with any of the protesters who were present? This is an awfully one-sided account that negates a great deal of photo/video/eye-witness evidence that the police were the the aggressors
Again - if you repeat what you are told without verifying the facts you are not journalists, reporters, or news - you are public relations for the government and/or their authoritarian forces.
Crap bit of reporting this incident raises a lot of questions about nswpolice actions, but you have chosen to take the easy line and parrot their media release. Let's hear from the people who were there, do your job.
Wrong end of the stick. Did any of you watch the vids or were at Central? Police started it. People were trying to go home after a peaceful protest.
Did the police even need to be there. People were waiting to connect to trains so they could go home after the rally. There's no plausible reason to have rows of police at a train station at any time, people can think for themselves.
The cops who held the woman’s throat is Odin. Try some actual journalism instead
“...because of the ongoing violence of the persons that were there, OC [pepper] spray was deployed to actually curb that violence and the potential of it.” The POTENTIAL of it ? Getting their retaliation in first hey ? 😟
There is actual video of the persons arrest and you can see for your own eyes he didn’t resist. This article is shit
🆘🇦🇺$$$200million+Plus Constitutional National ICAC🇦🇺🆘
Have you asked why police were lined up at Central? Why they funneled people ( NB no longer protesters) into a trap? Why they didn’t just let the people go home? Are you journalists or stenographers? Big Hint: There is plenty of footage.
And the police are correct on this matter.
Just having another 'bad day' then?
Do you have evidence of the police allegations? Because in this article you are just providing a dictation service for police.
Why does your article consistently refer to 'protesters'? The protest was over. You don't know who all these victims are and why they were there. They were people trying to catch a train home & the police elected to herd them all into a small space & then pepper spray them.
Why not?
But they are liars
Oh please! Nobody believes the bullying NSW Police these days.
No they are the problem they are the aggressors
You’re fucking kidding, right? Only sourcing information from the aggressors? Not taking any of the plethora of voices, images, video from the sources who were kettled and then attacked? Why would you only take the police’s account? They have everything to hide!
I think you left something out of the headline
No journos working today?
Neither are citizens
Why did the AFP logo feature on robodebt threat letters? Why did Taylor and Cash get away with their illegal behaviour? Why isn’t Mick Fuller culpable for sexually abusing minors?
True. They’re bastards.
Neither are the public. They are not a vent for your bully rage jollies. They are not your cattle to herd. They are not your dogs to bait. They are not your quota to fill. They are not your class war pot shot. They’re not your lives to brand. You are their public servants. Serve.
Do better, ABC. This is one side of the story presented in an uncritical light. Where are the voices of the folks on the ground? The explanation for WHY protestors were kettled into the station _at_ _all_?
Is this the road to losing public support?
How many pigs got punched? Zero if they’re laying zero assault charges. Stop regurgitating propaganda SarahTtheWriter
Q. Who was punching police? A. No-one. DefundThePolice
This headline has been chosen deliberately to imply protesters initiated physical assaults on police officers prior to police aggression. So: where is the evidence that this happened?
A compliant media is a problem
I see no punching..I saw no punching.. but i certainly saw overly aggressive men (?) in blue in an orchestrated dance routine
All they had to do was distinguish themselves from the brutality of American police forces - and they failed.
Shame ABC news. thisisnotjournalism
Again .. Their ABC conveniently shits on the truth
Here’s a thought... police joining the protesters. Who would have thought
Why not just let the acting commissioner write an op-ed? Would be more transparent than whatever this is
Info_Aus Looks like a line of Nazis saluting . Good photo.
Why was the boy arrested? I've seen a video.
Yeah so video evidence at the traino completely contradicting police record is the fake story? FFS this is reporting under ItaButtrose is it?
I see a young woman with an officer's hand at her throat, I don't think I'm misinterpreting the image in any way - in a domestic violence situation attempted strangulation is a SERIOUS INDICATOR of a threat to life!
That's funny, they look like the ones doing the punching. auspol NSWpol
When the facts hurt the cry babies. Throwing bricks and bottles at police, but no we are peaceful protesters. Alright mate.... have some pepper with your take home meal and move on.
try to include literally one perspective other than the cops'
ABC complicity and/or cowardice is showing. Every ABC report has ignored the documented video evidence of non-violent protesters being forced into close contact within an enclosed environment with no escape & then pepper sprayed. Ask SkyNews for the video, they were invited.
Police suck
How is it that the protests in every other locality didn't have any problems, but the bovver boys from Sydney created a shit storm? I'm guessing the professionalism of the nswpolice needs to be queried, but then again, look at who their bosses are.
There's video of police pepper spraying corralled protesters but no video of police being punched. Is it possible the police are lying to justify their violence against peaceful protesters ?
Ok, don't like 'punching bag' ... let's try 'splatter target' shall we?
What punches? There is video of the incident This is pathetic 'journalism'. You are not NSW police PR.
Here are the ABCNews guidelines on Indigenous content In this context, this story is problematic. This story presents the police account as the only story - and offers no Indigenous perspectives, public health discussion, or analysis of the AV footage.
Absolutely 💯 support for your statement. Shame you don’t act the same when you arrest and kill people of colour 😡
Nor are the protesters.
the police are lying again and no one is surprised.
Why aren't you defending the protesters, ABC? Surely someone has to be sacked over this?
Another POV
What a coincidence because Aboriginal people aren’t punching bags too.
But they weren't being punched
Police stenographers
Disgraceful misreporting from the ABC. Do your job!
The ABC are cultivating radicals, as evidenced by the comments
Well of course the ABC would take the protesters side its staff have been stiring anti police and racial tensions all week
Who are these people acting in this way and why are they acting in this way? Were they part of the peaceful protest or outsiders? Do they belong to any other groups? Are they known to police? In other words if “they” weren’t there would there have been any violence? To many ?
WE SEE YOU!!! 👁️ PoliceBrutalityPandemic PoliceAbuse PoliceAccountability blacklivesmatteraustralia AboriginalDeathsinCustody AboriginalLivesMatter
Protestors aren't pepper spray sponges
And that's the best they can come up with? A shame did not interview any of the witnesses, including people unconnected with the rally being herded and attacked by out-of-control uniforms. Disgraceful.
Why did they need to 'herd' them....? They were boxed in between the rail lines and police They were in the station Because They Were Leaving ffs
Well maybe if police didn’t block all exits and the way to platforms and let the crowd disperse as they did in Brisbane and Melbourne, there wouldn’t have been any problems would there!
This isn't a news story. This is a reproduced press release. Where are the other accounts? Eyewitness accounts?
A nice set up for this sky cameraman. They broadcast the footage. How about you investigate that. We are sick of Murdoch media.
Can anyone explain the following ? and why did the police stop protesters to take the train to leave peacefully?
all reports from people who were there is that there was no violence until the police became violent
I beg your pardon?
No shit they're defending it, it was very obviously pre-planned. Why else would the corral everyone into a confined space and aggravate the crowd while not letting media anywhere near the scene? Police aren't punching bags, sure, but they shouldn't be violent criminals either.
hippies btfo
The police surrounded people, shouted, escalated the situation and began by pepper spraying a disabled person & 14 yo old girl. The police instigated the violence because they felt like having a tantrum
🔶 BOSS Sauce Pepper Spray Please! 👇👇👇👇👇
People yelling at cops don’t deserve to be pepper sprayed in an enclosed space without warning. Did anyone at the abc ask the cops about them kettling protesters and random commuters and forcing them down to the tunnels, blocking all the exits and not letting them leave?
Sydney officers trapped and sprayed people trying to go home. This is total bullshit and you know it.
Except the a Police pushed them all into that confined area and blocked each end!
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: SBSNews - 🏆 3. / 89 Read more »
Source: SkyNewsAust - 🏆 7. / 78 Read more »
Source: 9NewsAUS - 🏆 10. / 72 Read more »
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »
Source: SBSNews - 🏆 3. / 89 Read more »
Supreme Court of NSW rules Sydney Black Lives Matter protest as unlawfulNSW's high court has banned a protest on Aboriginal deaths in custody, which was expected to draw thousands to the Sydney CBD. 9News Can't they do it some other way? The pandemic is still here. What a waste of lockdown if everyone gets covid19 after 2 weeks coz of all these protests.🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ Headline should say “Court rules that we’re not ready to lift restrictions yet to allow mass protest” They’ll turn up anyway, the police will say “don’t” and turn a blind eye, and Nine News will breathlessly report on the “largely peaceful” protest of “thousands”, while the actual number will be just over 100
Source: 9NewsAUS - 🏆 10. / 72 Read more »