Police bashing in Melbourne
MELBOURNE — An allegation of police violence has been reported to Green Left Weekly. The victim, Scott Baker, says he was walking to the local "7-Eleven" store in Fitzroy at about 3 p.m. when he was stopped by plain-clothed police who demanded his name and to search his bag. He refused, insisting that it was his right not to answer their questions.
The police then said that Baker's eyes were bloodshot, that he seemed vague, and so must have been carrying drugs. Baker says he denied this, and told them they were blatantly abusing their position by making false observations to obtain information.
He started to walk away but was grabbed by the two senior constables, pushed into an undercover carpark and beaten up. He was handcuffed, then dragged to the street and made to lie face down in the gutter.
One of the police radioed for a van while the other knelt on Baker, gouging his finger into his ears and into the back of his neck.
After 20 or 30 minutes the van arrived and Baker was taken to Russell Street police station. The driver of the van kept saying, "You're a homosexual, hello homosexual".
At Russell Street, Baker was taken into a small room, still handcuffed, and beaten again. They forced him to confess that he was planning to hold up the 7-Eleven with a bread knife they found in his bag — from a picnic he had just been on — then charged him with loitering with intent to commit an offence (armed robbery), carrying a dangerous article without lawful excuse and two counts of resisting arrest. He was released later that night.
Baker denies all these charges and will contest them in court. He has also made complaints to internal investigations and the deputy ombudsman's office.