Legal action in play after protester 'punched' in eye
Hannah Thomas was allegedly punched in the face by a male NSW Police officer in an act of "gratuitous police brutality and excessive use of force", her lawyer Peter O'Brien says.
Ms Thomas, an activist and lawyer, was among five people arrested in Sydney on June 27 outside an Australian firm reportedly linked to the manufacture of components for US fighter jets used by the Israeli Defence Force.
The arrests are being investigated by police officers from another command, with an internal review by professional standards and external oversight by the police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
Mr O'Brien has written to NSW Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions demanding the charges against Ms Thomas, 35, be dropped.
He also has instructions to proceed on a civil claim seeking compensation for the actions that led to her injury.
"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," he said in a statement on Monday.
"I am satisfied that Ms Thomas was punched in the face by a male police officer, causing extensive and serious injury to her eye ... We are further satisfied that Ms Thomas was an innocent victim of gratuitous police brutality and excessive use of force, actions that were completely and entirely unjustifiable."
Her legal team say they have watched all available footage of the incident and object to claims made by senior police officers, which they argue downplay its gravity.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden has previously said he did not observe any misconduct in the body-worn camera footage of the incident. All officers involved remained on duty.
Mr O'Brien noted the incident occurred at the same time state laws strengthening police powers to crack down on protests had been increased.
Pro-democracy groups have, in the wake of the violent arrest, argued that the controversial laws granting police powers to move protesters on from places of worship have emboldened the force to "act with impunity".
"It cannot be known what goes through the mind of a police officer who uses gratuitous violence like this, but the context and timing appear unavoidably revealing," Mr O'Brien said.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said the force cannot comment on ongoing investigations.
"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," she said.
Protestors returned to SEC Plating in Sydney's west on Friday evening for another rally, where a statement from Ms Thomas, who remains in hospital, was read out.
"We owe it to Palestinians to escalate, to keep targeting companies like SEC Plating, which play a role in the F-35 global supply chain and enable genocide against the Palestinian people," she said.
"This company does not deserve to profit from the genocide."
Ms Thomas, who ran second to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the inner-west Sydney seat of Grayndler in the federal election in May, was charged with hindering or resisting police and not following a move-on direction.
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