COVID Enforcers Must be Held Accountable
By Sky News Australia
Sky News host Rita Panahi says there needs to be a “reckoning” for the Victorian police as they try to rebuild their image following Melbourne’s lockdowns and protests.
“Victoria Police is again trying to rebuild their image after enthusiastically serving as Dan Andrews covid enforcers for two years,” she said
“Where they terrorised pregnant women for Facebook posts, harassed little old ladies on park benches and shot scores of protesters with non-lethal rounds.”
Ms Panahi said, “Chief Shane Patton says he is bruised by the work his force had to do during COVID lockdowns”.
“PR campaigns and sob stories about feeling bruised from police command are no substitute for accountability,” Ms Panahi said.
Here’s what others had to say:
Maitre Mark
It was sickening to watch all that again… and sickening how some people agreed with it at the time.
Dana Bana
I still can’t believe that this happened to you all there. I am so sorry for all of you. I live in a very rural area in Michigan and we didn’t hardly even mask up, much less have to go through the insanity that broke out everywhere. It’s horrifying and deeply, fundamentally wrong.
odyshop ody
My ship pulled into Perth (actually Freemantle) in 1988 when I was in the Navy. Australia was one of my favorite countries to visit during that cruise. People were super friendly and I had a great time. It was always one of the countries I wanted to go back and visit one day. After seeing what happened during COVID, and not just what the police did, but the camps that were set up and people dragged out of their houses and quarantined for weeks in them, was just terrible. Unfortunately Australia is not on my bucket list anymore !
Dan Iwanicki
I was living in Florida during Covid and they opened shops back up very quickly after initial lockdown. Most Floridians did not care, we were walking around without masks, enjoying the beach, nice weather, as if all was normal. It was like being in the twilight zone seeing how other countries like Australia was handling the pandemic, a completely different reality existing alongside another one. All this excessive force was totally not necessary.
Avatar Cowboy
In 1965 as a 12 year old American boy I moved with my family to the small town of Roma in the Queensland outback. What followed was two of the best years of my life. Now at 69, retired with the means to travel, all desire to revisit Australia is totally gone, forever. My heart breaks for the Australian people.
kalasend
The last few years have been an eye-opener. We now know that all over the world, law enforcement protect you if they’re told to do so. But they can equally just flip side if they are told otherwise.
J W
I was a cop for several years including through the lockdown in the US. This disgusted me to no end and I would have quit before ever following an order remotely like this. Australian authorities all the way up to the PM who authorized this naziesque behavior need to be completely stripped of power for good. Possibly even jailed.
Siobhán Rose
Actually in tears. I still can’t believe this stuff happened, my mental health is only just recovering. I never wore a mask, I never got a jab, I never checked in. I’m thankful to all the people who stood up for our rights in these crazy times, and I am sorry you were bullied, assaulted and abused.
Joel Hughes
Seeing some of this footage is really disturbing. I feel for Australians that went through that. I went to Australia quite a while ago and loved the place and the people. To think now their government thought this treatment was acceptable is deeply worrying.
TapeWorm
I know someone who left Melbourne after 11yrs living there because of the state it had become over the pandemic. Just watching from the other side of the world I was absolutely enraged by the Victoria Police’s actions after seeing no end of videos of them being heavy handed. I can’t imagine not wanting to give their Police a kicking.
How they had the nerve to walk around in public after that and not be afraid of repercussions I’ll never know.
EDMFaN
This is absolutely shocking! Nobody would have expected this from Australian law enforcements.
