Attorney for Hannah Thomas Alleges Police Assault; Potential Legal Action Considered

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Lawyers for a former Greens candidate who suffered a serious eye injury allegedly while being arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest say they are ready to sue the state of NSW.

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 said.

Thomas was among five people arrested in Sydney on 27 June outside an Australian firm reportedly linked to the manufacture of components for United States fighter jets used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

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.

Police initially brought a charge connected to causing a public disturbance, but dropped it. Thomas has also been charged with hindering or resisting police and not following a move-on direction.

O’Brien has written to NSW Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions demanding the charges against 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.”

A woman is in a hospital bed with her right eye covered with gauze.

Hannah Thomas was injured in her right eye while being arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney in June. Source: Instagram / Hannah Thomas

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.

O’Brien noted the incident occurred at the same time state laws strengthening police powers to crack down on protests had been increased. However police denied that Thomas was charged in relation to the new amendments which mean police can issue move-along orders outside a place of worship.

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,” O’Brien said.

Protesters wearing keffiyehs and holding Palestinian and Lebanese flags

Protesters gather during a rally at SEC Plating in Belmore. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

A NSW Police spokesperson 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,” the spokesperson said.

Protesters returned to SEC Plating in Sydney’s west on Friday evening for another rally, where a statement from Thomas, who remains in hospital, was read out.

The protesters allege SEC Plating supplies components used in F-35 jets, the class of jets flown by the IDF — an allegation the company has denied.