Police Have Reportedly Dislocated The Shoulder Of A Djab Wurrung Tree Protester
Shocking video shows a man writhing in pain while police watch on, apparently unresponsive to calls to get him an ambulance.
Shocking video has emerged from the scene of the Djab Wurrung tree protests, of a man writhing on the ground in pain and screaming that police broke his arm, while officers stand by watching.
Later reports from the scene clarified the man’s shoulder may have been dislocated and not broken. A release circulated by protestors states this happened at about 11:30AM as activists were being removed from barrels they had locked themselves to.
Footage of what protestors say is a man whose arm was broken by police at the #DjabWurrungTrees pic.twitter.com/6VLq32Oynk
— ⛳ Jim Malo ⛳ (@thejimmalo) October 27, 2020
The video shows protestors in trees shouting at police and asking them to call an ambulance. Police do not appear to respond in the video.
We think twitter removes this so here it is again – CW: More footage of excessive force by Victorian police being used on protectors at the #DjabWurrung embassy today #DjabWurrungTrees @DanielAndrewsMP stop this now! pic.twitter.com/vshy5kYThU
— WACA (@akaWACA) October 27, 2020
An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman told Junkee they were called to the scene but did not treat or transport anyone. A Victorian Police spokeswoman also told Junkee they were not aware of any injuries.
Journalists reporting from the scene have said police have blocked them from getting close to the site of the clashes, and legal observers were also arrested earlier in the day.
We’re unable to get any closer to #DjabWurrung Heritage Protection Embassy #protest camps. A police operation to remove protesters and camps from the site of the #WesternHighway upgrade began yesterday. #SpringSt @abcmelbourne @ABCIndigenous @abcnews pic.twitter.com/EIJus6atnM
— Sarah Jane Bell (@SarahJaneBell94) October 27, 2020
Police have arrested legal observers at the Djab Wurrung sacred site, stopped journos from entering the area and there’s multiple reports they’ve broken a protesters arm
— Joshua Badge (@joshuabadge) October 27, 2020
At the time of writing, there were still some protestors sitting in the trees attempting to prevent their destruction.
The Victorian government has been slammed for Monday’s felling of the “directions tree” a sacred remnant of the Djab Wurrung tradition of mixing a child’s placenta with tree seeds to form a connection to their ancestors and a place to find spiritual guidance.
Djab Wurrung people fear the “grandmother” and “grandfather” trees will be the next to go.
Victorian Greens Senator and Djab Wurrung woman Lidia Thorpe told Junkee on Tuesday the tree’s destruction was a devastating act by governments who made racist value judgments about the trees’ cultural value.
Feature image courtesy Djab Wurrung Heritage Protection Embassy