I was there when protesters were pepper sprayed at Central Station on Saturday night. I want to clarify what happened as details have been misrepresented.
The first and most important being the NSW Police’s assertion that the use of pepper spray was “appropriate”.
It was not.
The first and most important being the NSW Police’s assertion that the use of pepper spray was “appropriate”.
It was not.
Below is what I saw.
When I arrived at Central Station at 6.17pm, protesters were at the entry to platforms 16 to 25 chanting “no justice, no peace” and “too many cops, not enough justice,” using walls and the sides of bins to create noise.
It was loud. It was not violent.
When I arrived at Central Station at 6.17pm, protesters were at the entry to platforms 16 to 25 chanting “no justice, no peace” and “too many cops, not enough justice,” using walls and the sides of bins to create noise.
It was loud. It was not violent.
Police then funnelled the group inside the building by forming an impenetrable line. Police also surrounded the Surry Hills Eddy Avenue exit.
Space became confined, tensions rose.
At 6.28, a protestor with a megaphone asked everyone to take a knee to diffuse the situation.
Space became confined, tensions rose.
At 6.28, a protestor with a megaphone asked everyone to take a knee to diffuse the situation.
After the group were standing again, the police line pushed further into the building. Protesters refused to move back further, creating a standoff.
At exactly 6.43pm, pepper spray was deployed.
At exactly 6.43pm, pepper spray was deployed.
I was very close to the line of police and can confirm police DID NOT warn protestors they were going to use pepper spray.
Yes, there was verbal aggression. People were chanting, some shouting at police, but I did not witness any protesters being physically violent.
Yes, there was verbal aggression. People were chanting, some shouting at police, but I did not witness any protesters being physically violent.
In a stand off between police and minorities, police always have more power. They have weapons and the force of the state behind them.
People were yelling at police, but confrontations are something police officers would have anticipated and have been trained for.
People were yelling at police, but confrontations are something police officers would have anticipated and have been trained for.
Of course, police are people and can undeniably feel threatened or intimidated, but to acknowledge that without acknowledging their position of power is flawed.
It is also absolutely crucial not to overlook the fact that at Central there was the same amount of police to protesters, especially if you take into account surrounding police who were stopping media and civilians entering the station.
It simply is not true to say police were under threat. They were not in a vulnerable position and still chose to use and defend the use of pepper spray.
The police decision to form an impenetrable line and push protesters into Central Station is also questionable in my opinion, and it is not clear why they chose to employ that tactic.
The protesters were not being violent or putting others at risk. Pushing them into the building seemed to only hinder the safe passage of travellers using the station and, importantly, interfered with the ability of protesters to socially distance.
This is another important point - no police at central were wearing face masks and were actively forcing people into an enclosed space.
The protest was ruled illegal because of the risk it posed for the spread of #COVID19. The ruling was overturned, but it seems peculiar to me that those employed by the state would not take precautions to stop the possible spread of coronavirus, which was their stated concern.
NSW acting commissioner Mal Lanyon told media police were “acting professionally” with their deployment of pepper spray, going on to say the protesters tried to “incite police” and “cause violence”.
This is false.
This is false.
Police reports also say a can and bottle were thrown at police. I can definitively say that at no point did glass smash inside Central Station. Immediately after the police pepper sprayed the group, a man threw something at police but it was neither a can nor a bottle.
NSW police were not letting journalists in. I believe myself and two AAP photographers were the only media present when the pepper spray was deployed. This, in my opinion, has led to the poor coverage of the incident and allowed the NSW Police to claim the group was violent.
Our prime minister Scott Morrison has said, “there’s no need to import things happening in other countries here to Australia.”
This is not an imported issue.
This is not an imported issue.
It is simply not possible to have 432 victims and no perpetrators.
Indigenous deaths in police custody is an Australian issue. As are the absurdly high incarceration rates for the Indigenous community.
Indigenous deaths in police custody is an Australian issue. As are the absurdly high incarceration rates for the Indigenous community.
Police violence is not detached from a larger culture of disrespect either. Last week, Rio Tinto reduced 46,000 years of important Indigenous history to rubble.
This country has a race problem. It has a police problem. And it has a problem acknowledging those problems.
This country has a race problem. It has a police problem. And it has a problem acknowledging those problems.
Police then funnelled the group inside the building by forming an impenetrable line. Police also surrounded the Surry Hills Eddy Avenue exit.
Space became confined, tensions rose.
At 6.28, a protestor with a megaphone asked everyone to take a knee to diffuse the situation.
Space became confined, tensions rose.
At 6.28, a protestor with a megaphone asked everyone to take a knee to diffuse the situation.
After the group were standing again, the police line pushed further into the building. Protesters refused to move back further, creating a standoff.
At exactly 6.43pm, pepper spray was deployed.
At exactly 6.43pm, pepper spray was deployed.
I was very close to the line of police and can confirm police DID NOT warn protestors they were going to use pepper spray.
Yes, there was verbal aggression. People were chanting, some shouting at police, but I did not witness any protesters being physically violent.
Yes, there was verbal aggression. People were chanting, some shouting at police, but I did not witness any protesters being physically violent.
In a stand off between police and minorities, police always have more power. They have weapons and the force of the state behind them.
People were yelling at police, but confrontations are something police officers would have anticipated and have been trained for.
People were yelling at police, but confrontations are something police officers would have anticipated and have been trained for.
Of course, police are people and can undeniably feel threatened or intimidated, but to acknowledge that without acknowledging their position of power is flawed.
It is also absolutely crucial not to overlook the fact that at Central there was the same amount of police to protesters, especially if you take into account surrounding police who were stopping media and civilians entering the station.
It simply is not true to say police were under threat. They were not in a vulnerable position and still chose to use and defend the use of pepper spray.
The police decision to form an impenetrable line and push protesters into Central Station is also questionable in my opinion, and it is not clear why they chose to employ that tactic.
The protesters were not being violent or putting others at risk. Pushing them into the building seemed to only hinder the safe passage of travellers using the station and, importantly, interfered with the ability of protesters to socially distance.
This is another important point - no police at central were wearing face masks and were actively forcing people into an enclosed space.
The protest was deemed illegal by the NSW Supreme Court on Friday because of the risk it posed for the spread of COVID-19.
The protest was deemed illegal by the NSW Supreme Court on Friday because of the risk it posed for the spread of COVID-19.
That ruling was overturned shortly before the protest started, but it seems peculiar to me that those employed by the state would not take precautions to stop the possible spread of coronavirus, which was their stated number one concern.
NSW acting commissioner Mal Lanyon told media police were “acting professionally” with their deployment of pepper spray, going on to say the protesters tried to “incite police” and “cause violence”.
This is false.
This is false.
Police reports also say a can and bottle were thrown at police. I can definitively say that at no point did glass smash inside Central Station. Immediately after the police pepper sprayed the group, a man threw something at police but it was neither a can nor a bottle.
NSW police were not letting journalists in. I believe myself and two AAP photographers were the only media present when the pepper spray was deployed. This, in my opinion, has led to the poor coverage of the incident and allowed the NSW Police to claim the group was violent.
Our prime minister Scott Morrison has said, “there’s no need to import things happening in other countries here to Australia.”
This is not an imported issue.
This is not an imported issue.
It is simply not possible to have 432 victims and no perpetrators.
Indigenous deaths in police custody is an Australian issue. As are the absurdly high incarceration rates for the Indigenous community.
Indigenous deaths in police custody is an Australian issue. As are the absurdly high incarceration rates for the Indigenous community.
Police violence is not detached from a larger culture of disrespect either. Last week, Rio Tinto reduced 46,000 years of important Indigenous history to rubble.
This country has a race problem. It has a police problem. And it has a problem acknowledging those problems.
This country has a race problem. It has a police problem. And it has a problem acknowledging those problems.
I can only speak for the time I was there - which was 6.15pm until about 7.20pm. I was only inside Central Station.
That’s true- SMH was also publishing images in real life. Sky were definitely there with a camera crew initially but they seemed to have disappeared before the actual proper spraying event.
Pepper spray*
