Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Victoria police (Disco enforcers) crack down on outdoor fun.


Below is a statement from a party goer, cracked down on by the Victoria police for the crime of public gathering.


So it turned out to be an eye opening weekend. I went to work at a party that was going to be held illegally under the west gate bridge. Due to some silly stuff ups the rangers found out about the party and it was shut down before it began. A fleet of police cars arrived and informed the crew that the party was not going to go ahead. However they decided to relocate and so set up began at a new site in Richmond down near the Yarra. After a few hours of setting up during which there was only one fly over by the police in a chopper the site was almost ready for the party to begin. That’s when the next police response began that escalated to some of the most drastic police activity I have witnessed in Melbourne outside of protests. Initially two squad cars arrived and there was the usual banter between ‘organisers’ and officers that of course led to the party once more being told it could not go ahead. However instead of following the usual sort of track of this sort of conversation followed by some fines or just a ‘clear off’ please they decided to call in ‘back up’.

Over the next 20 minutes a large number of squad cars arrived and the road was blocked so no one new could get in but those of us down on site could not get out. Then one of the large ‘brawler’ vans arrived and a number of officers began to climb out and kit up including the black jumpsuit clad ones that tend to roam as paramilitaries amongst our police these days. At that point a dog squad also arrived. Not a drug sniffing dog squad but Alsatian attack dogs purely there for ‘crowd dispersal’. After intimidating the site like this for about half an hour the majority of the stages began packing up and so the cops eventually left. One stage however had remained set up and after about an hour as we packed up they switched on and obviously word got out that the party was still going as hundreds of punters began to roll in. The police returned about an half an hour into this and informed everyone that they would come back in force if the paddock was not cleared immediately. They left and as I was stuck in the paddock waiting for a car to return I had an inkling that things would turn sour.

But the other stage now had there backs up and in hindsight it was a bit stupid of them but they fired up there system again and quite a nice little party gathered for the next 50 minutes. Now in the past such an action would have incurred fines and further discussion but this night it was all about brutality. The police arrived about 50 minutes later once more sealed off the site so no one could get in and out and came in hard. They formed a cordon and swept the area punching at people as they aggressively cleansed the site. There was at least one arrest as they dragged a tripper in Halloween costume off to the divvy van. The system was shut off and much of the crowd fled. I was lucky enough to talk my way out of being arrested so I could remain with gear that was still left in the paddock and make sure it was not impounded. As one car drove out it was stopped and I saw one of the commanding officers lean in and have words with the driver before letting him go. As the car sped off he turned back to the line of men under his control and yelled out “That one was a Lebbo I think. He was one of those Lebanese”. The dripping hatred in his voice as he said it was astonishing. Finally they cleared out leaving me and a skeleton crew packing down the last system.

I was finally picked up and we headed over to a friends in Collingwood. He lives on Easey street just off Smith Street. A warehouse there about two doors down was having a Halloween party. They claimed in the media that they were expecting 25 people but 500 turned up. Now whether this was because the other party was shut down and now there were hundreds of people looking for somewhere to go is I guess speculation but it may have been a contributing factor. It was once again a lovely crowd albeit large but your standard Northcote hippie type crowd all jolly and happy. As we drove into the street they were milling across the entire street and they happily moved aside to let our vehicle through. About half an hour after arriving we heard a disturbance had begun outside. It turned out that the entire RIOT SQUAD in full kit shields and batons and all had arrived and was sweeping the street. They declared that Easey street was a cleared area. I raced out of course to watch and witnessed people who lived on Easey street trying to get back into the homes being brutally thrown to the ground and told by the police that as this was now a cleared area they had to disperse to Smith street and were not allowed back into there homes until some hours later. So now apparently Victoria Police has the power to stop you from entering your own premises. Meanwhile inside the warehouse the party had been happening in which was now also sealed off (same tactic they had used up in Richmond) the brutal beatings were continuing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me-JruDzxmg

So it’s good to know that Victoria police is continuing its slide into complete depravity. And still no one in government calls for or allows a royal commission. So you can be a banker and take part in the worlds largest bank heist and you get a bonus. You can be a minimum wage earner who just wants to go out for a drink with your fellow slave after a hard week working for the bankers and there Militia WILL come and beat on you now.

No comments: