A police officer in New South Wales has been charged with assaulting Hannah Thomas after she sustained a serious eye injury during her arrest at a pro-Palestine protest on June 27. Thomas, along with four others, was arrested at the rally in Sydney attended by about 60 individuals at SEC Plating. Following her arrest, she underwent two rounds of surgery on her right eye and a third surgery is forthcoming.
Earlier this month, the office of the director of public prosecutions dropped all three charges against Thomas. The 33-year-old police officer, who is a senior constable in the south-west metropolitan region, has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He is scheduled to appear before Bankstown Local Court on November 18.
Police reports claimed that as officers attempted to disperse the protest, a 35-year-old woman sustained facial injuries and was hospitalized. The arrest of Thomas has prompted an investigation by the NSW police professional standards command. The officer’s employment status is under review, and police are conducting a critical incident investigation into the arrest, overseen by the independent police watchdog.
The protest at SEC Plating, which the demonstrators believed was supplying parts for the F-35 jet program, was denied by SEC Plating.
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