© Reuters/Darren Whiteside
A video showing three Sydney police officers brutally beating a young woman has gone viral, with over 750,000 views on Facebook. During the clip, the victim is repeatedly hit with a police baton and appears to be kicked in the head by a male officer.
Police brutality has been hitting the headlines in the US, but now it seems the unfortunate trend has made its way to Australia. The woman in question, Claire Helen, who works as a model and actress and was on the receiving end of recurring blows from a police officer, said: "It was the most frightening and humiliating experience of my life."
Law enforcement officers allege that Helen punched a policewoman in the mouth, as well as resisting arrest - an action that the model stringently denies. "They pushed me down
. They hit me and kicked me. They pulled my dress over my head," she said, speaking to Channel Nine. Onlookers could be heard shouting,
"Let her go," and, "She's not resisting arrest."
Helen, who is 1 meter, 60 centimeters tall and weighs 55 kilograms, insists she was just enjoying a quiet night out when she was accosted by law enforcement officers, who were much bigger than her.
"We weren't drunk. We'd been with people playing soccer and went out to have a few drinks. I'm not the sort of person who goes out getting pissed on a Wednesday night. I'm trying to make it as a model and actress. I can't go out every night getting wasted. I definitely don't ever get in circumstances like this," she told Channel Nine news.
The incident happened in the Kings Cross area of Sydney, which is home to a number of bars and nightclubs, after Helen and a group of friends haggled over a taxi fare, according to police. The law enforcement agency also added that a male member of the group punched the taxi driver in the stomach.
However, Helen alleges that the taxi driver had charged the group the wrong amount, which led to the trouble starting.
"He had the meter running before we got in, so we got out," she said. "He said something to us and we said something back, but then he pushed one of my friends and called the police. Then the police showed up and you saw what happened," she added, Channel Nine reported.
The video has taken the internet by storm and has already been viewed by over three quarters of a million people on Facebook. Many users criticized Helen and defended the police. One woman wrote:
"She deserved it. You're supposed to respect your elders and respect the law," with another adding, "She's not resisting arrest?? Really... I thought that if you weren't resisting they would've had the cuffs on you 1 sec into the video... she got what she deserved.... hopefully that taught her a lesson."Kings Cross Superintendent Michael Fitzgerald said he was satisfied police had used appropriate force, adding: "Police are not punching bags, neither are taxi drivers."
© wikipedia.orgDarlinghurst Rd, Kings Cross, Sydney
He added that police have reviewed CCTV footage of the incident, and they say it justified why they took such a heavy-handed approach.
"I have viewed the footage that has been uploaded on social media," Fitzgerald said. "But I've also had the opportunity to view the entire CCTV from the City of Sydney cameras which shows the entire incident. [It] clearly shows the female offender punch the female police officer in an unprovoked assault which caused the wrestle that you see on YouTube," Fitzgerald added, ABC News reported.
The officer who repeatedly struck Helen with a police baton will not face any charges, police said. Helen and three men have been arrested with a range of offences, including assaulting a police officer, assault, affray and resisting arrest. They have been granted bail until a court hearing on January 6.
Reader Comments
You are correct, I don't want them on the force. However much we say this, the reality is that someone in authority has made the decision to make you and I the enemy, and these goons are a well trained extension of that authority. Welcome to the jungle...
it's a disease.
"clearly shows the female offender punch the female police"
why would one even make that statement? i would simply release the video without comment, or maybe a "nuff said" and this would all be over already.
Is the fact that someone might have reacted badly to being arrested justification for beating the shit out of someone?
As for "resisting" arrest this has become an euphemism for the general twitching and reacting to pain that people experience when being tazered and beaten
At what point would any sane person expect someone to be encouraged to remain still via the continuous beating with a baton?
Authoritarian Followers are the main reason psychopaths gain power and create so much suffering for everyone.
It's depressing to see how far things have gone worse and I feel like some people defend it more than ever! Maybe this is part of the splitting of the "wheat and the chaff" that the Bible spoke of?
"Q: (Atriedes) If you could give 3 pieces of advice to the world, what would they be?
A: I was wrong to think I could change the masses by example. Humans are fickle and self-centered for the most part. Thus, if you wish to really effect changes, it can only be done by early education, and even then it is fragile and will not last. In the end you must be true to your own nature and fear nothing. If you do that you may make a difference after you are gone. That is not exactly what you are looking for, but there are no 3 pieces of advice that serve all events."
Suck-ups, bootlickers, toadies, sycophants, a$%kissers, brownnosers, back stabbers, climbers.
While the academic definition helps to identify and study this psychopathology, using common layman's terms to describe an individual authoritarian makes it more personal and emotional.
IOW, no more free get-out-of-jail because you have a personality disorder. You're just any or all of the above.
They WILL be punching bags if they ever try that shit with me!