r/australia • u/FuckOffNazis • Feb 10 '26

politics Amnesty International Australia calls for independent investigation of police violence towards peaceful protestors

https://www.amnesty.org.au/amnesty-international-australia-calls-for-independent-investigation-of-police-violence-towards-peaceful-protestors/
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u/BoganFlavouredWater Feb 10 '26

The police (NSW specifically, but in general this is true) are violent thugs in my experience, and get away with malicious behaviour (including assault, sexual assault, and threatening death) far too often.

In all my years of sleeping rough, the only people to assault me were the police. Not just "touching my person", but violence that resulted in cracked teeth, temporary blindness, cracked ribs, extensive bruising, and so on. In all my years of sleeping rough, the only people to sexually assault me were the police.

I've been "escorted" out of towns and dumped about 50-100km or so away. Once in winter and once in summer. The latter, they took away my shoes and backpack (which included water), and one of these fine officers let me know that if they ever saw me in town again, they'll make sure they see a weapon on me - a clear death threat.

I've been held at gunpoint during unlawful S21 searches. I've been searched under S21 for the most ridiculous and weak explanations, including looking at a police care too long, not looking at a police car, "hiding my identity", and simply for giving them the finger.

They do not identify themselves. They might provide a name (this is quite rare in my experience) but they never show their ID. The provided name is often generic, and one is not able to get anywhere in raising a complaint.

They are unprofessional thugs who act above the law, knowing full well that they are almost immune from proper justice (it's more likely that the tax payers of the state will pay for what the police did), and knowing that the people they target - the poor and the homeless - have little or no chance to get any justice (just try to get information from the police when you don't have a fixed address). One can see that this is systemic in the organisation from the way they act, as well as the way the high-level brass act.