Two members of the press to whom Victoria police sprayed pepper in two different public acts say they have decided to take legal action.
Key points:
- Victoria police say their pepper spray policy is not under review
- He says he is reviewing how police are taking care of people once they have been sprayed with pepper
- He says he understands the important role the media plays in covering public events
Photographer Luis Ascui was working for The Age last September when he was sent to cover a protest against the blockade in the Richmond suburb of Melbourne.
His photographs of the day capture the hundreds of people who had gathered to protest and the huge demonstration of the police force that received them.
Towards the end of the protest, he says his day took an unexpected turn.
“Police had jumped on a protester, I think they sprayed him with pepper and I just aimed my camera at them,” he said at 7.30am.
“And then they noticed me, so they turned to me and one of them was holding a club, I think. And the policeman behind him was carrying pepper spray. And he just turned to me and opened it. the container “.
The images show the moment when Ascui was sprayed with pepper by the police.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. The video captured the moment when Luis Ascui was sprayed with pepper.
Victoria police apologized and announced that the Professional Standards Command would investigate. However, Ascui says he has little faith in this internal investigation and has decided to take legal action.
Luis Ascui says members of the media have the right to do their job safely. (ABC News: Billy Draper)
“Whenever a situation happens and the police get hurt, it’s a horrible thing,” he said.
“They go and work, they should be able to return home safely.
“Whenever we go to an event or story, we should also be entitled to it. We want to get home safely after work.”
His lawyer Jeremy King said he was surprised by what happened to his client.
“Even if he had been a protester, that would have been an excessive force,” King said.
“But the fact that I was just trying to cover that event, and it’s incredibly important for the media to cover those events, I thought it was absolutely outrageous and I really needed to do something about it.”
Victoria police refused to be interviewed at 7:30 p.m. In a statement, he said, given that the investigation into the Professional Standards Command was ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
“It was unbearable”
Four months after Ascui was sprayed with pepper, Melbourne was finally out of the blockade and enjoying a summer of freedom.
Sports fans were gearing up for the Australian Open until their biggest letter, Novak Djokovic, sparked a media storm when he arrived unvaccinated.
On January 10, the world number one had a victory in court, with a judge overturning the government’s cancellation of his visa and ordering his release.
Djokovic’s supporters gathered at his lawyer’s office in hopes of seeing his hero.
Ian Ransom says no warning was given before pepper spray was sprayed on him. (Provided by: Ian Ransom)
Reuters sports journalist Ian Ransom was sent to cover the story, but was suddenly at the center of the action.
“He was there, watching the scene, from what I thought was a pretty safe distance,” he said at 7:30 p.m.
“But one of the police officers … turned in my direction and sprayed me with pepper spray in both eyes.
“No warning was given for what I could say. I just couldn’t see what was going on. It was completely unexpected.”
He said the pain was instantaneous.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. Ian Ransom says he was suffering from “unbearable” pain after the pepper spray. (Reuters)
“It wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt in my life. It was unbearable. It actually caused a bit of a panic attack at the time, as if my whole body had shut down.”
“I fell to my knees on the road and was shaking. My heart was pounding and I was screaming for water.”
Ian Ransom was sprayed with pepper the next day. (Provided by: Ian Ransom)
Ransom has also decided to take legal action and wants Victoria police to review its use of pepper spray.
“Pepper spray is a very serious weapon, as I can attest,” he said.
“And if the police are unable to exercise it in such a way that members of the public who may be innocent or not threatening are harmed, then the question must be asked, should they take up arms?”
Victoria police said their pepper spray policy was not under review, but would review how police cared for people once they had been sprayed with pepper.
Attorney Jeremy King says it’s hard to see how any of the incidents comply with police guidelines, which dictate that pepper spray “should only be used when there are reasonable grounds to believe the use is necessary and proportionate in situations of actual or imminent or serious violence. ” physical confrontation “.
“In these situations, there is no violence or imminent risk to the police,” he said at 7.30am.
“You have two journalists very calmly trying to cover the events.
“And so it’s extraordinarily difficult to see how the police could justify the use of pepper spray in these situations.”
King said it was time for the police to recognize the role of the media in ensuring accountability, transparency and keeping the public informed, especially during major events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When the police intend to interfere with this and curb what the media can and cannot do, either by arresting them or spraying them with pepper, this interferes with that right,” he said.
“And it’s a very, very dangerous trend in a democracy.”
In a statement, Victoria police said they understood the important role the media played in covering public events and were working with the media union to address any concerns.
He also revealed that the deputy commissioner had reviewed Victoria Police’s response to the September protest in which Luis Ascui was sprayed with pepper and reported his findings to the IBAC.
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Posted 43 minutes ago 43 minutes ago Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 6:40 AM, updated 26 minutes ago 26 minutes ago Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 6:57 AM