Arrest footage and teargas raise concerns about Victoria police’s use of force to quell protests

The civil rights group Liberty Victoria was concerned about the footage.

“It’s deeply concerning. Incidents like that can motivate others in a deleterious way,” spokesperson Michael Stanton said.

“We don’t say police have an easy job – far from it. We’ve seen some shocking scenes of protesters hurling abuse or worse, we’ve seen police getting injured and hospitalised and that’s terrible, but what you don’t want in that situation is to have a disproportionate use of force that could itself spark further unrest.”