Violence Erupts in Melbourne as Riot Police Unleash Rubber Bullets and Pepper Spray on Protesters
- Two police officers injured, including a female sergeant with a serious hand injury and a male senior constable with a leg laceration
- Police minister defends use of force, saying officers had no choice but to deploy crowd control measures to maintain peace
- Tensions escalate as anti-immigration marchers clash with counter-protesters in Melbourne’s CBD, with rocks, glass bottles, and rotten fruit thrown at police
Victoria’s police minister has backed the actions of officers who used pepper spray and rubber bullets against demonstrators in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday, saying they had no choice but to deploy crowd control measures to maintain peace.
The violent clashes erupted when thousands of people involved in an anti-immigration march confronted a counter-protest group in the CBD, with police struggling to keep the two groups apart.
In a dramatic escalation of the situation, two police officers were injured, including a female sergeant in her 40s who suffered a serious hand injury and a male senior constable in his 30s who received a cut to his leg. Both officers have been released from hospital but are expected to be off work for several weeks.
Commander Wayne Cheeseman said officers were pelted with rocks, glass bottles, and rotten fruit and responded with pepper spray, rubber bullets, and flashbangs to subdue protesters. “They would not have had to deploy that operational equipment unless they felt it was necessary, and we certainly back them in the work that they did to maintain the peace,” Police Minister Anthony Carbines said.
However, a counter-protester disputed the police minister’s account, saying she had not seen anyone throwing objects at police and was splattered with pepper spray that was directed at a person near her. “There wasn’t any violence coming from the counter-protest, and the actual pepper spraying and that sort of stuff came completely out of the blue from the police,” she said.
Wayne Gatt, secretary of The Police Association Victoria, questioned why so-called peaceful protesters would bring items that could be used as potentially dangerous projectiles to the demonstration. “Why are you throwing bottles with glass shards in them? Why are you throwing fruit, eggs, projectiles at police?” he asked.
The incident has sparked a heated debate over protest permits, with the Victorian opposition calling for their introduction to counteract regular demonstrations in the CBD. However, Premier Jacinta Allan rejected the call, saying it was not the advice she was receiving from the chief commissioner of Victoria Police.