Police face potential legal trouble after protests
Police may face legal action after punching and pepper-spraying protesters protesting the Israeli president’s visit to Australia.
Police officers were seen pepper-spraying, beating and pushing people during a demonstration Monday after Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in the port city.
NSW Premier Chris Minns defended police actions and said they were facing “incredibly difficult” circumstances.
But officers’ videos from Monday night could lead the agency into a storm of reputational and legal trouble.
“Civilians see this type of violence very rarely in Australia, but when we do it is shocking,” criminologist Justin Ellis from Newcastle University told AAP.
“The police will have to deal with any loss of reputation.”
Dr Ellis said a message about safety, rather than officer tactics, could help build public trust going forward.
But the damage may have already been done.
Greens MP Abigail Boyd is considering all her options, including legal action, after she was pushed by police.
Others may also sue the police or file a formal complaint; Videos were posted on social media showing a man being repeatedly punched in the stomach by police officers with his hands raised, while another depicted a group of Muslim men praying before being ripped from their knees and taken away by police.
The justice system may move in favor of the protesters.
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas, who suffered a serious eye injury when she was arrested during a protest in 2025, has had charges of resisting police dropped and a charge of assault against the police officer who allegedly maimed her.
Officers arrested 27 people that night and later charged nine with offenses including offensive behavior in public and resisting police.
5 of the citizens were hospitalized.
The violence did not deter protesters in other parts of the country from taking to the streets in the coming days as Mr Herzog continues his Australian tour through Melbourne and Canberra.
During his two-day visit to Sydney, he met Bondi terror attack victims, students at Jewish schools and attended a ceremony at Bondi Chabad with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Demonstrators will gather in the gardens of the Parliament House in the country’s capital on Wednesday to raise their voices against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Asked about scenes of violence in Sydney, ACT chief constable Scott Lee said regional forces were trained to manage protests peacefully.
“I can certainly give you that assurance,” he said regarding the possibility of police violence during a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.
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