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Subscribe to RSSAustralia police strip an Occupy Melbourne protester of her tent costume and leave her in her bra and panties on the ground.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Police stripped an Occupy Melbourne protester down to her underwear Tuesday, an act that promptly went viral on YouTube and prompted an ethics investigation.
The protester, identified only as Sarah, 20, was wearing a tent converted into a costume when police moved in on her and similarly clad demonstrators, the Melbourne Sun Herald reported.
The video shows officers using a knife to cut away Sarah’s tent as she protests "This is not consensual" and witnesses yell "Shame" and epithets at the police.
Officers are shown walking away with the seized tent as Sarah is left in just bra and panties on the grass and other protesters bring her a blanket.
The incident was part of a police sweep in which three protesters were arrested as officers enforced city orders requiring demonstrators to take down tents and tarpaulins, The Associated Press reported.
Victoria police late Tuesday said the Ethical Standards Department was investigating the stripping.
''The Ethical Standards Department has subsequently received a physical assault complaint in relation to this incident and is investigating. As this investigation is ongoing we will not be commenting further.''
Police earlier told the Sun Herald that they warned protesters that if they chose not to wear clothes under the tents, they would be given time to dress before the costumes were seized.
Three of four protesters cooperated, police said.
"The fourth, a female, refused to comply with direction," police said , according to the Sun Herald report.
Protest organizers said in a statement that police targeted Sarah and knew she was not clothed underneath the tent.
"The severed costume was violently torn from her body while the protester herself was discarded, semi-naked and crying on the ground," they said.
This story includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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If anyone else did this it would be considered sexual assault.
i know right? but since they're government officials....
As usual ... all she had to do was comply and nothing would have happened.
It's illegal to wear a tent in Melbourne?
This was not done at the spur of the moment. People in these tent costumes were warned and given the opportunity to dress. There were four of them and the other three complied and there was no incident. This woman refused to comply and paid the price. She has no one to blame but herself for what happened.
So government gets to dictate what people wear?
Reading these posts it is very easy to identify the Police State Fascists from others.
They support anything government does (if they don't like who the gov't is doing it to).
If it happened to them, they would be screaming 'Obama is a Socialist.'
Since when was there a dress code banning tents?
It's illegal to wear costumes now?
The fact that the police knew or could easily tell that the girl was NOT dressed underneath her tent, should have prompted the police to either set up a private area to take the tent off, or take her to a more private area. This was absolutely ridiculous as to how it was handled by the ignorant police officers.
With events like these going on during the protests, the governments are only asking for more protests. This is going to get out of hand very quickly as the news of the governments and police ignoring the protesters rights goes viral very quickly, and cannot be contained.
Of course, Britain and its commonwealths don't have much to worry about, they already took everyone guns long ago. Thank god the USA hasn't yet, at least we have a fighting chance against our fascist government.
Meh,
At least she wasn't pepper sprayed too. Nothing like extra insult to injury from the police.
I'm with Floyd on this one. Yes, she didn't take the opportunity to get dressed as her cohorts did.
But the officers should have arrested her with her tent ON. Not strip her publically and leave her on the ground.
The free world is seeming to be taking a back ward step with freedom. Is it against any law to wear a tent fashioned into clothes? My sweater used to be a sheep.
Interesting to me that people don't seem to see that this is a warning humiliation to show you what will happen to you if you do not conform to the wishes of the state.
What do you think the TSA and Homeland Security are about?
Getting you used to your government treating you like a criminal in your own country.
I think that the police officers that were there, and the ones in charge, should be taken out to that park and stripped of their badges, guns and uniforms in front of the cameras and everyone since they in no way shape or form deserve to wear any of that. Then you charge them with RAPE, which is exactly what that was!!!!!!
Then, you send them to the worst prison, that is full of pedophiles and rapists, and then show them what rape feels like.
To any of you that disagree, just imagine your mother, sister, or daughter in her place. You would go postal on someones butt, and you know it!!!
Another example of the growth of the Police State. In America, travellers are scanned with high resolution imaging cameras that reveal humiliating details to strangers. Next, they are grope, fondle, probed, squeezed, and poked by TSA government security inspectors. As children are not exempt, pedophiles are having great fun. The elderly are strip searched because they wear medical devices and body waste collection bags. Women who under gone masectomy are required to remove their prothesis for inspection. Both men and women with medical braces are required to expose them and in many cases remove them for closer inspection.
Without a whimper from the American people, the 4th Amendment of the US Constitution has died. It won't be long America will be under totalitarian rule.
Shame for not flogging that wench. Looks like she could do with a good drenching er I mean shower.
How sad that some these folks are defending the police in this aggressive assault. Whether the woman complied or not, as a professional, you do not act in a barbaric manner as what was seen in this video. At the very least, officers should have had a blanket or something to cover her after forcefully stripping her. If she didn't want to cooperate, the proper thing to do is arrest her and remove the attire in jail and assign her some clothing.
funny how you nutjobs that think the cops were right in this situation also have the balls to talk about "freedom" like you have any understanding of the word. typical amerikkkan hypocrites.
@txrbt
As usual ... all she had to do was comply and nothing would have happened.
Yes, we should all just comply. We should all just surrender to whatever the "authorities" demand.
If more people like you were around in the 1700s, the Union Jack would be our nation's flag and you would be sucking the queen's ass.
There is a lot they aren't showing I know first hand that Aussies like to push the limits when dealing with the police. Some just push to far and then complain when it back fires. The police generally do a great job.
Don't these stupid protesters have a job to go to?
Police earlier told the Sun Herald that they warned protesters that if they chose not to wear clothes under the tents, they would be given time to dress before the costumes were seized.
Three of four protesters cooperated, police said.
The police in China told people not to step out in front of a tank when they are marching. 1,999,999,999 billions complied, only 1 dude didn't.
This does not compair to Tiananmen Square at all.
Since when the goverment owns everything?? Since when the goverment owns the land we leave upon? The goverment is there for the people not the other way around. I say we need to RECLAIM what is ours by right. THE PLANET EARTH.
we dont own earth, Mother nature does
Parks are maintained and owned by the government. Thats never really been an issue before.... I don't see why its an issue now. Not to mention thats not the government "owning everything". In fact, the vast vast vast majority of property in the United States (can't comment on Austrialia where this happened) is owned by private citizens.
I'm all for the Occupy movement, but left wing nut jobs like yourself are just as bad as right wing nut jobs.
Parks are owned and maintained through our tax money. The government is paid by us and is our employee. We are the "owners." The fact that that's been forgotten is the root of the problem.
John...
Better fact check that. Federal lands are extensive, and if you include Alaska, you will find that most land you can walk on but not use.
and John..
guess who is supposed to own the government...the people, so if it is government land, it is property of the people, not the politicians alone...or that is supposed to the way, now, politicians decide if you can keep your land/freedom/life all based on profits they can make for their masters and themselves, to hell with the people.
People get confused between emotion and reality. There were risks involved and they chose to risk it anyway. Arent there bigger fish to fry. Is this what the highlight of life has come down to? She wanted to make a scene, mission accomplished.
What risk Sherlock? Did you see the video?
just like you wanted to show what a suckup to government you are...mission accomplished there..
Now, this is a sex crime. A 10-year old boy calling his teacher "cute" is not. These police give strength to the epithet "pig". No shame!
She wanted to make a point (Protest)
She chose how to make her point (She was told to dress prior)
She made her point (was it the point that she wanted to make)
The only point that I saw made was that of a temper tantrum that was met with the treatment that was promised. Sorry but the message of your protest, no matter its merit, was lost.
Yea. You can't trust anyone wearing a tent.
Attempts to reason with liberals will always result in failure.
She was dressed. She chose to clothe herself in the tent.
Unless they were FASHION POLICE, they had no right to do what they did.
So what if they were warned? A warning does not provide police with carte blanc to act as they desire. They still have laws that govern THEIR actions as well. It's the same thing at Berkely. A bunch of kids sitting on the ground being warned is not an excuse to carry out a malicious chemical attack. Drag them away if you must. Put them in handcuffs and let them sit a night in jail if that's what they are after. But chemical attack on nonviolent, seated, civilians undertaking civil disobedience? WTF?! Disrobing a young woman in public? WTF?! They couldn't just put her in a police van, they had to make a spectacle that easily falls under sexual assault. WTF?!
Both of these incidents were carried out by police officers to "teach a lesson." Since when is it the cops' place to teach lessons. That is the courts' job. The cops are simply out of line and overstepped their bounds in both incidents. If some ass-backward interpretation of the law can justify their actions then that law needs to be made more clear. Simply saying "it was within the cops' right" doesn't cut it.
Larry the loser you reach in your points so much even you do not believe them. The guy who says this is rape needs to be raped so he knows what it is. You losers have been indocrinated. You education is worth nothing. Most of you could not find the chicken in chicken soup. probably too stupid to get that anology as well. Libitards or mentally ill
Honestly, this is one of the few times I can't really side with a protester. She was warned well in advance, and chose not to change so she could make a statement. I'm impressed she had the guts to go through with it, but whining about it afterwards kinda takes some of its power away. Now it just seems like another Michael Moore related stunt.
Is there some law about not wearing a tent as clothing?
Do sexual deviates and perverts get to strip anyone they feel like?
Not trying to take away from the fact that the police over there were being dicks. I'm just saying that this had the words "media stunt" written all over it and baiting cops gets real old real fast.
It kinda looks like She was/is just as STUPID, >>> as those PALOOKAS (poleeze) wuz/is. ALL were NUT-CASES/idiottz.
It is shameful that Australian gouvernment is a democratic country and it allow this police officers to do that. It is worst than a communist countries.
Wait, how is that "ample warning" related to anything?!? Yes, they were mocking police with the costumes, but they ARE costumes. How is ordering someone to remove clothing legal? What city ordinance states that you can't wear a costume in a public park? That's like saying that a group of people were wearing pink jackets in the park, police ordered them to remove the jackets, and 3 out of 4 complied. How is that even REMOTELY legal?
How about this for a thought. All human beings must have shelter of varying degrees based upon the environmental conditions in which they find themselves. A house is shelter. Your clothing is shelter. Both protect you against the elements.
So it is that this lady chose to use a portable shelter called and tent in and unorthodox manner. It was shelter for her body none the less. What the police just did to her is no different than if they had come along and snatched her pants and shirt off her back. If you cannot see this, you are willfully blind.
All one can hope is that you may one day develop some empathy for people. For if you do not do this, it will one day be you that is stripped bare and made destitute by those same minions of politicians and their benefactors. It is shameful and those that are shameless are no better than an sociopathic abuser.
They are only adding fuel to the fire for the movement.
The movement is dying a slow death. People have moved on with their lives. People aren't talking about it anymore, for the most part, no one cares.
The grand experiment is over.
tombones, just how long have you been a government lapdog, paid to post propaganda online??
is there a law in australia that you cannot wear a tent as a costume in public? if there is, fine. if not, the police were totally and completely in the wrong. shame.
I am definitely not a fan of police brutality but this is kinda meh. But maybe Australia has higher standards for its pigs than America does, in which case, good for them.
Stinkin' nazi @!$%#s. They're almost as bad as Republicans.
Disappointing to know that the animals in Australia are just as bad as the animals in America.
Watching this it's pretty obvious why the British shipped these cops' ancestors to Australia in the first place. If they are anything like their forbears then I wouldn't have wanted scum like that in my country either.
Doesn't seem to matter where in the World---Cops will be the worst criminals if you give them a chance.
cops are such ass lick brown noses.
My question is, "what are the police in Australia and the U.S. thinking"? Don't they realize that they are being used by those in power? They are part of the 99%.
Once the Scott Walkers of the world bust the rank and file government worker unions, they will sent their sights on the safety worker unions. Rather than acting as the instrumentality of those who want to destroy the middle class, the police need to take a step back and realize that they should be protecting the protesters from those in power who would deny the protesters their voice and economic justice - not the other way around.
We should recruit these Fascists for our police departments.
Teach them to assault peaceful demonstrators and bystanders.
Larry you are stuck on stupid. You are like the kid with the big mouth on the playground that cries victim when he gets his ass kicked, You belong in Occupy, with the same extreme libitard tactics. You obviously get your news from MSNBC and Special Ed
drdarby17 - not sure if the 17 represents your age or IQ, but most rational people don't settle their differences with violence, on the playground or off. From your tone we must conclude that you get your "news" from Fox and can understand your limited intelligence, but not forgive it. You need to set down the remote and get out of your mother's basement so that you can educate yourself with facts that you'll never find on Fox.
suspend their asses with out pay indefinitely and see if that makes their brain start working.
She was wearing a tarp.
Most of you don't see the reality of these protests. The protesters don't have any Idea what they are against. They act like a hoard of " I'm entitled to be the spoiled irresponsible brat that I am. I follow the crowd without regard, because I'm the son/daughter of a BOOMER that raised me to think I am better than anyone else. I don't give a rip about the law, only me and what I want to do, so don't f><8 with me, or there will be trouble. I don't contribute 'cause mommy said I don't have to. All I want to do is TAKE from society anything that even resembles order and structure.
The same was said of our founding fathers by the elitist British. They were supposed to just shut up and pay the taxes that the British imposed on them (but not the British ruling class) to pay off an unfunded war in Europe. They also felt betrayed by the government destroying free trade by turning over all commerce in the land to a handful of corporations loyal to the crown (such as the East India TEA Company).
Thank God that handful of free thinkers did not cave in to conventional wisdom and give up the fight when the British resorted to violence. God Bless the founding fathers, God Bless OWS, and God Bless America!
to: romy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, >>> I happen to be A BOOMER and I think you do NOT know anything about us, PERIOD! & I personally think you must be/are a frigging IDIOT/NUT-CASE, by trying to think you know HOW we raised our children ! <> Once again, you "sir???" ARE an IDIOT!
While this was going on I was at work like most Australians earning a living. I didn't have the time to wrap my self in a tent a prance around like a fool.
The government, any government, will shove it up your a$$ anytime and you will have to take it. You have no freedom, you have no recourse and you have no rights period. What you gonna do eh?
Well said.
You want to make a difference? Vote! That is your only recourse. This is not changing anything.
I generally agree that complying with police instructions is the best course, but what exactly does her wearing a tent put her in a position where a cop essentially disrobes her for not complying? Complying with what? Do they have a dress code in Australia? Again, I sometimes think that these cops need to stop and think about what is TRULY necessary in a given situation....unless a cop is being physically assaulted....or TRULY realistically believes he/she is in danger....some of this stuff is really unnecessary. It just makes them look like idiots.....
What part of "NO TENTS" don't you understand? They don't want public parks to turn into campgrounds and septic tanks....We should try that here.
So, in her case, no tents means no clothes, and you're good with that? Alrighty then....