Police brutality in a divided society

Hannah Thomas, brutally bashed by Victorian Police

The bashing last month of a woman by a Victorian policeman at a political protest is indicative of the new standard of policing that seems to be deemed as acceptable nowadays.

Hannah Thomas, a former candidate for the Greens Party (a far-left political party), was attending a pro-Palestinian protest when she was viciously punched in the face by a policeman; the damage inflicted was considered to be so bad by medical staff, that it is feared that the victim will permanently lose the sight in that eye.

We haven’t looked into the background and views of Hannah Thomas; however, as a prominent Greenie, it is likely that she hold some views that we are likely to oppose (and conversely, we assume that she would oppose some APP policies), but our political stances are irrelevant in this instance, as the subject matter is bad policing. Hannah Thomas is a coloured immigrant to Australia; although we are not aware of any “racism” on the part of the police being alleged.

This bashing was not an isolated incident, but was one of many instances of police brutality. There are many videos on YouTube and other social media of police behaving badly — often behaving as criminals, in fact (many of those videos are from the USA; but, unfortunately, there are also such videos from Australia).

The Covid-19 situation saw many instances of police bullying and brutality, with many police acting as mindless thugs and bullies. In Victoria, during the Covid era, public gatherings were banned; however, in accordance with their politically-correct sensibilities, the police did not arrest leftists and neo-communists attending a Black Lives Matter march; but then, when a rally was held to protest the Covid restrictions, the police waited until the rally was over, and then brutishly, thuggishly, and violently attacked small groups of three of four leaving the area (like the cowards they are, the police did not attack the big rally, but waited until they had force of numbers to attack their favourite targets: unarmed civilians).

Avi Yemini was assaulted by Victorian Police whilst being dubiously arrested

Avi Yemini was assaulted by police when he was reporting on the Covid Troubles. In one case, Avi was reporting on a Covid protest, with his media credentials, when a police commander pointed him out for targetting; Avi was tackled to the ground, and then a number of police forcefully knelt on him. The physical force was totally unnecessary, as he was already well-known to police as a media reporter, and he was in no way threatening; it was quite simply an act of thuggery by the Victorian police (it should be noted that none of the nearby police attempted to intervene, to stop the assault committed by other police officers). Avi Yemini was also bullied at his home (and elsewhere) by police.

Avi Yemini has been described by some as far-right and a “racist”, and even as a fascist and Nazi — which is somewhat ironic, since he is coloured, an Israeli citizen, and a Zionist; it would probably be more accurate to describe him as a right-wing civic-patriot. Similar to the situation with Hannah Thomas, Avi holds some views that we oppose (and conversely, we assume that he would oppose some APP policies), but our political stances are irrelevant as, once again, the subject matter being discussed here is bad policing.

In terms of police behaviour, it doesn’t matter whether people are left or right, black or white, poor or rich, or live in a ditch — they should not be wantonly assaulted or bashed by police. If there are any punishments to be meted out, then it is up to the courts to make the decisions, not the police.

There seems to have been a rise in recent years of bad policing attitudes, styles, and techniques, with police officers itching to go “hands on” against people who don’t immediately kowtow to their asserted authority, and it seems to be even worse in politically-charged situations.

It is not just in Australia that this shift in policing has occurred, as it has also been noted in the USA, the UK, and in Canada (and, no doubt, it would have appeared in many other places as well).

The bashing of Hannah Thomas needs to be investigated by a neutral body charged with police oversight. It’s not good enough to rely on internal police investigations, which create situations which have been widely characterized and derided as “The police investigated the police, and the police found the police to be innocent”.

Justice needs not only to be done, it needs to be seen to be done — and that’s not going to happen when the police investigate themselves. Obviously, they have skin in the game; and there is a widely-acknowledged tradition of police having each other’s backs, even when a “wrong ’un” breaks the law in his eagerness to supposedly do his job. Police have been known to lie, cheat, steal, and wantonly bash in the course of their work.

When police break the law, then they become criminals; and it’s too bad if their victims actually turn out to be innocent, because the police-perpetrator’s co-workers will usually close ranks to ensure that their criminal colleagues don’t face any consequences (and, in so doing, those police become accessories after the fact, and are therefore criminals as well).

Some people join the police with a poor psychology, with a mindset intent on exerting arrogant and bullying behaviour; some police officers become that way after long periods of dealing with the scum of the earth (the problem being that they then start to deal with all citizens as if they were the scum of the earth). These problems need to be addressed.

Too often police display arrogant, bullying, and thuggish behaviour towards citizens, and often the poor behaviour of police officers is driven by egos and an inner desire for people to “Respect my authority!” — and that is simply not good enough. Police need to be motivated by law and justice, not by personal egos. Police misbehavior reflects badly on good police officers, and it needs to be stopped.

Various problems in policing arose when police forces became politically-correct. Some, if not all, police forces have become promoters of the transsexual and homosexual agendas; they have become politically-driven in nature, not law-driven in nature. Similarly, police forces have become infected with the Multiculturalist and Diversity-Equity-Inclusion ideologies, which are also political in nature, with adherence to those ideological stances being mandated by the politically-driven police hierarchies.

Police who bend the knee to Black Lives Matter are political, pathetic, and useless

With the rise of the “new breed” of police, many old-school cops were driven out or pensioned out of the ranks of the police, so that the new politically-correct hierarchies could institute their new brand of police culture; this meant that younger police officers lacked the benefit of the wisdom of the old hands. There is also a higher emphasis placed on university-qualified police to be promoted into higher positions, rather than relying on street-level experience and wisdom. Technical qualifications are great for technical positions, but putting people into positions of power who have been brainwashed by notoriously far-left universities is a recipe for disaster.

Of course, adding Multiculturalism and Third World immigration into the mix makes things even worse. Whereas homogeneous societies typically have higher levels of co-operation and trust, multiculturalist societies become more tribalised, atomised, and antagonistic. It’s no wonder that the police-public divide becomes wider and wider in a multiculturalist society; when police officers no longer feel like they are part of a community, but more like part of a ruling elite, then police behavioural problems increase.

The new face of policing in Australia

Under Multiculturalism, practical problems also appear. Up until the 1980s, police forces had very strict height requirements for police officers, as taller and bigger policemen command more physical respect and awe; police candidates were rejected even if they were one inch below the required height. But then waves of Asian immigration occurred, and the old height requirements were scrapped, so that East Asians could become policemen. As a result of Multiculturalism and Third World immigration, police forces have become less effective.

The changing of our society can be carried out, if enough people of the nation have the will and determination to do it. However, in the meantime, we need to develop appropriate strategies for the police.

Police culture needs to be changed, police recruitment needs to be improved, and better police oversight needs to be put into place.

Every police officer needs to wear body-cameras which are to be activated whenever the police deal with a member of the public. Such cameras should not be able to be muted, should have a 5-minute cool-down when turned off, and should be tamper-proof. These cameras can protect police against false allegations, and also protect civilians against corrupt police.

In addition, every state and territory in Australia needs to have an independent body which can investigate and review cases of alleged police brutality and corruption.

If we are to have a decent society, then the police forces of Australia need to be overhauled and improved.

References:
re Hannah Thomas:
“Injured former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas charged with hindering or resisting police at pro-Palestinian protest”, ABC News, 14 June 2025 (Chantelle Al-Khouri, Sean Tarek Goodwin)
“Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas hospitalised after pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney”, ABC News, 27 June 2025 (Sean Tarek Goodwin)
“NSW Police declare Hannah Thomas’s injury during protest arrest a ‘critical incident’”, ABC News, 30 June 2025
“Videos expose the violent melee, the gruesome eye injury and the ugly fallout”, The Age, 1 July 2025 (Michael McGowan, Amber Schultz and Kayla Olaya)
“Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas demands apology from Tony Burke and Sky News following eye injury at protest in Belmore”, Honi Soit, 2 July 2025 (Imogen Sabey)
“Hannah Thomas: NSW police drop emergency riot powers charge against pro-Palestine protester”, The Guardian, 7 July 2025 (Jordyn Beazley)
“Hannah Thomas’ lawyer says police punched her and she could launch legal action”, SBS News, 14 July 2025
“Hannah Thomas was punched in the face by a police officer, her lawyers claim”, The Guardian, 14 July 2025 (Jordyn Beazley)
“‘She was punched’: Police accused of ‘gratuitous brutality’ against Hannah Thomas”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 July 2025 (Michael McGowan and Kate McClymont)
“Former Greens candidate injured in protest to fight charges against NSW Police”, 9 News, 15 July 2025 (Miklos Bolza, Alex Mitchell)
“‘Questions of excessive force’: Major escalation in Hannah Thomas arrest probe”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 July 2025 (Perry Duffin and Michael McGowan)
“Hannah Thomas hits out at ‘cowardly’ cops after injury during protest arrest”, News.com.au, 27 July 2025 (Brendan Kearns)