High visibility policing with early and disproportionate escalation tactics

From 06:00, LONSW observed a heavy police presence across the foreshore area. The ICC was completely surrounded by teams of police and numerous vehicles including vans, riot-squad 4WDs, police rescue, a drone team, and mounted unit trucks. Teams of 2 or more police were closely yet evenly distributed around the parameter of the ICC. Teams of General Duty and tactical officers (4–8 per team) were heavily dispersed throughout the area that extended beyond the ICC around the Darling Harbour area. Mounted police were also visibly patrolling alongside the Darling Quarter foot path at this time.

The organisers’ publicly advertised meeting point was the IMAX at 06:30. At 06:20, a group of protestors marched along the Darling Quarter footpath towards IMAX. The protestors were passing along the path and not obstructing it. Police, including GD, riot/tactical, and mounted units approached them in a violent and confrontational manner, quickly assembled into a kettle formation and began pushing protestors back. This seemed to be aimed at stopping the protestors from getting to the intended protest location. There was no communication from police regarding what protestors were expected to do and the crowd was left confused and overwhelmed by the sudden, escalatory response.

“There was literally no space to escape their pushing. I witnessed an elderly man (he looked well into his 70s) being shoved so hard that he toppled over a bench and into a garden bed. It was shocking and utterly unnecessary – no one among us had done anything aggressive or unlawful to warrant this level of force.”

Protestor #1 statement to LONSW

“Despite my following their instructions to keep heading to the park and not having done anything remotely unlawful or offensive, police pushed me off my feet twice, then snatched my protest sign out of my hands and threw it to the ground. I was repeatedly grabbed, pushed and shoved backwards into the crowd. I kept telling the police who were grabbing and shoving me to stop and that they were hurting me, but they ignored me and kept handling me roughly. At one stage, due to the police’s assault and the crush of the crowd, my breathing became severely constricted and I was fearful that I might lose consciousness.”

Protestor #2 statement to LONSW

“In the first encounter, I had an officer palm me in the face and attempt to take my glasses off, and very soon after another officer placed his hand up under my jaw and around my throat to push me back whilst ordering the crowd to step back, which of course, I couldn’t. At no point was I ever told they were attempting to arrest or detain me.”

Protestor #3 statement to LONSW

As protesters were being kettled, many were pushed to the ground by police. LONSW observed multiple instances of protesters falling after police pushed them onto other protesters. In one instance, the crowd was forced through a landscaped section of the foreshore area containing trees, shrubs, and metal park benches. A safe passage through these sections was very narrow, with certain sections allowing only one person to pass at a time, especially between benches and trees. LONSW observed a protester being pushed over one of the metal benches and falling to the ground. Police continued to advance in that formation, pushing protesters back.

Use of excessive force and OC spray against protesters complying with police directions

During this period, some police were heard directing protesters to move to the “park,” or “designated area.” At one stage, police formed a line and violently charged, running at the protestors. At this time the protestors were stationary and not advancing toward police. This was a dangerous and disproportionate response to a crowd that had not been violent towards police.

Police also deployed OC spray indiscriminately, striking many individuals who were further away from the part of the protest close to the ICC. This use of OC spray further agitated and confused protesters who were attempting to comply with directions while being forced into the park.

LONSW observed multiple protesters sustain leg injuries, including one that was pushed to the ground who then visibly limped away, later reporting to LONSW the diagnosis of an ankle ligament injury. In the immediate aftermath of the police charge down, multiple protesters were seen assisting others with apparent leg injuries, aiding them to remain mobile as they moved in compliance with police directions.

The charge by police caused a crowd crush, creating unsafe conditions for all the protesters in attendance, but made the situation critically unsafe for those who now required mobility support to move towards the “designated area.”

Protesters were forced to move back approximately 100 metres and were subjected to the violent police response for most of that distance. The rapid manner of violent confrontation and pushing further contributed to the confusion and compromised the safety of all in attendance. Mounted police were also observed to be dangerously close to protestors as they advanced forward into the crowd. Two different female protesters reported being pushed and/or grabbed “by the breasts,” by male police officers, with one reporting that the officer yelled “get the fuck back slut!.”

If the tactical objective at the time was to move the group into the park, the use of OC spray would seem to be at odds with this goal.

For example, one person who was severely limping was being assisted by two other people to move toward the park in compliance with the police direction. Police were observed to deploy OC spray against the trio, significantly hampering their ability to continue to comply with the direction.

By 06:35am protesters had moved into the park. Many used this time to decontaminate following OC exposure while others assessed injuries. The park had one main entry from the Darling Quarter footpath and a smaller entry on the ICC side, that was guarded by police. The area was effectively cordoned off with steel interlocking gates. Police initially entered the park in line formations, then withdrew to the external barricaded perimeter, forming up outside the park behind the gates and in front of the ICC.

By 06:40am protesters assembled on the ICC side of the park, behind the barricades. They began chanting and making noise consistent with standard protest activity. Some protesters held and rattled the free-standing gates. As a result, the gates slightly shifted and a few became dislodged. Protesters did not advance on police. Police moved forward to zip-tie the gates together, a step that escalated tension and created a confrontational atmosphere.

At 7:50am police approached the barricades and attempted to push and reposition the gates, which had shifted approximately 1–2 metres across a very wide footpath. This did not obstruct passage of the footpath. Nevertheless, police forcibly pushed the gates into the crowd. This police-initiated physical confrontation created a risk of crush injuries. LONSW observed police pushing the gates against protesters while the gates were lifted in the air. Many protesters had nowhere to move due to the dense crowd behind them. Mounted police were positioned directly behind this confrontation. Throughout this, the crowd remained within the “park/designated area,” and protesters did not direct violence at police.

“I witnessed one policeman repeatedly punching my comrade in the stomach, with him being unable to move due to being pinned between the crowd and the barricade. Next to him, my other comrade was pepper sprayed directly in the face by another officer and, once she had turned away, he started punching her repeatedly in the back of the head.” –

Protester #4 statement to LONSW.

Police officers pulled one protester over the barrier and threw them to the ground before

arresting and taking them to Surry Hills. The person sustained bruising and lacerations from this method of arrest. Another officer was observed to pick up a section of fencing and strike a protester with it.

At 8:02am Police again deployed OC spray indiscriminately, this time within the designated area. This caused considerable confusion to the crowd given that police had previously given handed out flyers showing a map of Darling Harbour with the area immediately around the ICC labelled “closed area”, and Tumbalong park labelled “protest area” which would suggest that they could expect to be safe from further police violence if they stayed inside the park.

The spraying was not targeted at individuals but directed at the crowd as a whole. Many protestors at a distance from the gate were struck both directly and indirectly, while others were sprayed point blank. NSW Police demonstrated a complete disregard for the safety of the wider crowd, including those uninvolved in any confrontation. Dozens of OC spray casualties were scattered across the park for at least 30 minutes, receiving treatment from medics and fellow protesters. Multiple arrests were again made.

For the remainder of the morning, LONSW observed several further instances of indiscriminate OC spray use without clear provocation. Individuals exposed to OC spray were often stationary, clearly retreating, or uninvolved in any confrontation. The pattern suggested casual and liberal use of OC spray without clear operational objectives. No regard was given to the potential danger and risk towards elderly, immunocompromised or those with respiratory illness, like asthma. At least one casualty was observed to suffer an asthma attack as a result, and was supplied with an inhaler by a fellow protester. They then had to sit on the ground breathing slowly, heavily, and laboriously for ten to fifteen minutes before their breathing returned to a normal rhythm.

The heavy and intimidating police presence was itself escalatory and precipitated avoidable confrontations. In one instance, police aggravated the crowd by walking a conference attendee through the park and the assembled protesters, despite the availability of many alternative, clear routes. This decision placed all in the vicinity at risk. In another instance, an attempted targeted arrest triggered a foot chase across the cordoned park. Numerous uninvolved bystanders were shoved as a large number of officers stormed the area and piled onto the targeted protester. Protesters were further endangered when multiple mounted police galloped and charged at the crowd. It was later confirmed that one protester suffered broken ribs but it is unknown to LONSW at the time of writing during which incident this injury occurred.

The initial NSW Police response to relocate

protestors to the park was unjustifiably violent and provocative. It created unsafe conditions and caused multiple injuries. Rapidly and aggressively moving the crowd while deploying OC spray exacerbated harm and demonstrated a disregard for safety. This conduct was disproportionate and unreasonable as protestors had not initiated violence. Instead, violence was manufactured and led by NSW Police.

Likewise, police response in the park was needlessly confrontational and disproportionate. Forcing gates into a confined crowd and repeatedly deploying OC spray indiscriminately created foreseeable hazards, causing numerous injuries and widespread OC spray contamination. There is no place for weapons like OC spray at protests. It is dangerous and escalatory. Its indiscriminate use exposes protestors to serious health and safety risks.