Police State: Victoria Police kneel on white woman’s head

Footage has emerged of a Melbourne mother being pinned to the ground by three police officers after she allegedly broke lockdown restrictions.

The woman’s daughter filmed during the incident at Hoppers Crossing in Melbourne’s southwest on Saturday — when Melbourne was still in stage three coronavirus restrictions.

The footage shows the woman screaming as the officers hold her face down on the footpath and handcuff her arms behind her back. Her daughter can be heard shouting “she’s in pain”.

A friend of women circulated the video and pictures of the woman’s bruised arms on Facebook.

She claimed they had been standing in public “with a poster about Russian politics” when police approached them. She said both women were issued a $1652 fine for breaching coronavirus restrictions.

In the video the woman’s daughter can be heard being questioned by officers. A female officer is then heard asking for her to show her ID.

“You need to take this seriously,” the officer says. “You won’t be arrested if I can confirm your ID.”

The daughter argues that she is not doing anything wrong. She says she’s just going for a walk.

“You are doing something wrong, you are out in contravention of the COVID restrictions,” the officer says.

Victoria Police confirmed two women holding placards were arrested.

“The two females were requested to state their names and address, and produce identification as they were in breach of the chief health officer’s directions,” a police spokesperson said.

“After numerous attempts from police to have the females provide their details which was refused, they were both arrested.

“One of the females resisted arrest, and had to be taken to ground during the incident.

Both females were issued with a $1,652 fine each for breaching the chief health officer’s directions and were released pending enquiries on further charges.”

Victoria Police have handed out 176 fines for breaching coronavirus directions in the past 24 hours – including one man who was busted on a 2.30am convenience store snack run.

A total of 51 of those fines were handed out to Victorians who weren’t wearing face coverings.

Aside the from the man who was feeling peckish at 2.30am, police have given a few examples of the behaviour they encountered yesterday.

They said one man was out walking in Bayswater North without a face mask and did not have one in his possession. He was more than 5km from home.

Police also found three men and one woman breaching curfew while sitting on a footpath eating McDonald’s.

Victoria’s work permit scheme has now begun, with fines of $100,000 for businesses and $20,000 for workers who try to cheat the system under harsh stage 4 coronavirus lockdown.

Workers are “terrified” about going out because of the harsh new rules, Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said.

The fines apply to employers who issue permits to employees who don’t meet the requirements of the scheme or otherwise flout the rules. Workers who are caught travelling to or from work without their papers face on-the-spot fines of up to $1652.

“Permitted workers” must carry around a written document. If they need to put their child in care, they need another.

Those who dare venture out for one of the few “permitted activit­ies” studiously stay out of each other‘s way. Interactions at the supermarket, chemist or post office­ are perfunctory, words muffled­ through mandatory face masks. Eyebrows have become the go-to form of communication.

Welcome to day one of stage-four lockdown, Melbourne-style. No one is smiling, not that you can tell. The nation’s most cosmopol­it­an city has lost its swagger. ­Instead it is cowering under the sheets as it stays home and looks to ride out a COVID second wave infecting hundreds of people each day.

People are genuinely fearful as they wait by the TV or radio for Premier Daniel Andrews to announc­e “the number”. They are looking for the start of a downward trend, and with it some hope.

Hope feels a long way away.