Lawyers for Hannah Thomas are launching a civil case against NSW Police, after the former Greens candidate suffered a serious eye injury during an anti-Israel protest in Sydney last month.
Thomas — who ran against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Grayndler — suffered the injury on June 27 during her arrest by police alongside four others outside SEC Plating, a business in Belmore which protestors claim supplies plating for F-35 jets used by the Israeli Defence Force.
In the wake of her arrest, Thomas was told she might permanently lose vision in her right eye, while police withdrew the rarely-cited anti-riot charge against her, known as 6A, that was first passed after the 2005 Cronulla riots.
Now, Thomas’ lawyer Peter O’Brien has called for all charges against her to be dropped and confirmed the launch of a civil case claiming she was “the victim of gratuitous police brutality and excessive use of force” during the arrest.
“Our firm is now furnished with instructions to proceed with a civil claim for compensation against the state of NSW for the actions of the NSW Police officers connected to her apprehension, injury, detention, and prosecution,” O’Brien told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Torts likely to be pursued against the state include assault and battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, misfeasance in public office, and collateral abuse of process.”
The pursuit of a civil case comes as SMH reports it heard from “multiple sources” that Thomas “was punched by an officer during her arrest”, with the publication claiming to have revealed body-cam footage which contradicted statements made by police after the protest.
Thomas’ lawyers claim the footage shows police failing to explain what laws they were relying on to break up the protest, with O’Brien saying the body-cam made him “satisfied that Ms Thomas was punched in the face by a male police officer, causing extensive and serious injury to her eye”.
While O’Brien said it was “not ordinary” for a lawyer to comment on an ongoing criminal case, he claimed the “objective evidence in relation to this prosecution” requires an “immediate public response”.
“This is especially so where comments have been made by senior police officials and politicians downplaying the gravity of the incident, apparently justifying police actions and comments that have been detrimental to my client’s position,” he said.
SMH reports that a NSW Police officer familiar with the case supported O’Brien’s claims, saying Thomas was “punched in the eye”.
While NSW Police withdrew the rarely invoked charge against Thomas and replaced it with standard charge for refusing to obey a move-on order, a spokesperson told SMH it could not comment due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
“As for any critical incident investigation, the circumstances of any serious injury and the conduct of police is incorporated into that investigation, and that investigation is ongoing,” the spokesperson said.
It comes as questions continue to be raised around Thomas’ arrest and injury, with NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson demanding urgent action in a formal complaint to Premier Chris Minns last month.
“What occurred in Belmore was not policing — it was punishment,” Higginson wrote.
“A member of our community was brutally assaulted by uniformed officers while engaging in peaceful political expression”.
Lead images: 9News and Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
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