The news comes just a week after police were forced to apologize to Rebel News Australia bureau chief Avi Yemini, who was falsely arrested on three occasions by the force while reporting on the streets of Melbourne. Louis Askui, a photographer for The Age, was hit directly in the eye while working at a demonstration in September last year, despite claiming to be working in the media, carrying three cameras and wearing a media credential at the time. Victoria Police have come under heavy fire for their heavy-handed approach during the large-scale protests, which have resulted in shocking scenes of police spraying protesters, shooting them with rubber bullets and projectiles, knocking them to the floor and beating them. with a rifle. but in scenes that were widely shared and condemned on social media. While the deal reached with Ascui is confidential, it is said to be worth thousands of dollars. The Australian said: The matter of Ascui and Reuters sports journalist Ian Ransom, who was pepper-sprayed by police in January this year while covering the fallout from Djokovic being unable to play at the Australian Open, also remain part of an ongoing investigation by the Administration Professional Standards. The role of management is to foster and promote a culture of high ethical standards throughout Victoria Police. Ascui, 56, was working for The Age newspaper on September 18 when he covered the anti-blockade protest in suburban Richmond and in a statement given to police he described the incident as he was trying to make an arrest. images from the unfolding news event. He was wearing a lanyard, hard hat and three body cameras when he was pepper-sprayed and told The Australian at the weekend the means of work should be “treated with more respect”. In a statement, Victoria Police released the following comment on Monday: “Victoria Police confirms that it has reached a confidential settlement with an individual involved in an incident at a demonstration on 18 September 2021. The confidentiality provisions in the settlement terms are binding on all parties involved.’ Ascui told The Age that he had seen an escalation in police use of force against protesters in recent times and no longer felt safe going to the police for help if events turned violent. “In the past, my fear has always been, ‘I’d better watch out for the protesters and if the protesters get stupid, then I could go to the police,’ but I don’t feel like I can do that either,” he said. . “I feel like a lot of times the police have the power to calm things down, but they also have the power to shake things up, and more often than not I find that lately, they’ve been more disruptive.” Police forces across Australia are struggling to fill their ranks, with one state even resorting to recruiting teenagers to deal with dwindling numbers. Police unions and officials in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales have raised significant concerns about officer abuse, staff shortages and overwork that are driving more and more people off the job.
