'He's choking me!' Confronting moment male police officer 'STRANGLES' a woman who refused to wear a face mask during a violent arrest on the streets of Melbourne amid draconian coronavirus lockdown rules
- A shocked onlooker filmed the moment a woman was arrested in Melbourne
- The woman was caught not wearing a mask in the city, which is against the rules
- Arrest turned violent when officer appeared to place his hands around her neck
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Disturbing footage has emerged showing a woman being choked by a male police officer during a violent arrest in Melbourne after she was caught not wearing a face mask.
The video was captured by an onlooker in an apartment building in Wellington Street, Collingwood, in the locked down city at 5pm on Monday.
It begins with the male police officer speaking to the 21-year-old red headed woman in baggy jeans.
The woman can clearly be seen without a face mask, which is in breach of public health orders that were introduced on July 19 to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Residents in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire must now cover their face when they leave the house or face a $200 fine under draconian stage four lockdown restrictions.
But the confrontation quickly turned violent when officer appeared to place his hands around her neck, clearly visible because of his lilac latex gloves.
Disturbing footage shows a woman being choked by a police officer in Melbourne afte she was caught without a mask
The woman can be heard repeatedly screaming 'He's choking me' throughout the clip
In the first clip, which has been shared on Facebook, the pair seem to be arguing in the street when the officer grabs the woman by her arm but she resists.
There is a struggle between the pair when the woman appears to place her hands around the officer's vest, the officer then retaliates by placing his hands around her neck.
The woman attempts to free herself. 'What the f***?' she says.
'Get the f*** off me,' she screams.
A man with a purple scarf then appears, who is seen filming the incident from the footpath as another police officer shows up.
The female officer can be heard telling the woman to let go of thew officer's vest in a clip filmed by another onlooker.
The male officer keeps his grip around her neck as the woman repeatedly says 'he's choking me'.
As the officer pushes her against the wall the woman removes her hands from his vest and punches him in the chest.
The video, which was captured by an onlooker in an apartment building in Melbourne, begins with the male officer speaking to the red headed girl in baggy jeans (pictured, left and right)
The officer can be seen pushing the woman against the wall as he grips her neck and head in his hands
She then attempts to kick the female officer.
'F*** you,' she yells.
'Get the f**k off me,” she yells.
'What are you doing? You’re f***ing choking me. You’re f***ing choking me, dude, what the f**k.'
The male officer then pulls the girl to the ground and attempts to push her face down to arrest her.
But the woman continues to resist, yelling 'what have I done?'
In the next clip the male officer can be seen sitting on top of the woman as he waits for back up to arrive.
The onlooker in the purple scarf, who has been identified as her boyfriend, continues to film the incident from different angles.
The woman can be seen struggling, with her feet flapping against the footpath.
Her boyfriend then yells for the officer to get off her, saying she has an excuse for not wearing a mask.
'She went to the doctor yesterday. Look what you're causing. You're f***ing hypocrites,' he said.
'There’s a man on a girl and you choked her.
'For what? For a mask? For not having a mask? Look how pathetic you are! Are you serious? Just for not having a mask?'
'Go f*** yourself,' the woman says again.
'Go f*** yourself officer.
'Why am I under arrest? Assault? I did not assault you, you grabbed me.'
In another clip, five officers can be seen surrounding the woman who is now laying face down on the footpath with the officer still on top of her.
Victoria Police said the woman was arrested after 'she refused to provide identification for breaching the Chief Health Officer’s directions'.
'Police made the decision to arrest the woman after she failed to provide her name and address.
'She then became physically aggressive and kicked a female officer to the upper body.
'The woman continued to resist arrest and had to be taken to ground before being arrested.'
She was charged with resist police and assault police. She was bailed to appear at court at a later date and the arrest has been referred to Professional Standards Command for oversight.
The woman was not issued a fine for failing to wear a mask as she has a medical exemption.
The footage comes after about 30 people attended a 'freedom rally' to protest the coronavirus lockdown in Melbourne on Sunday.
Up to 400 people were expected to kick off the illegal protest on the steps of Parliament amid the city's strict stage 4 lockdown.
A female officer appears to try to speak to the woman as the male officer keeps his grip around her neck (pictured, left and right)
The man in the purple scarf then yells for the officer to get off her, saying she has an excuse for not wearing a mask. 'She went to the doctor yesterday,' he says
In another clip five officers can be seen surrounding the woman who is now laying face down on the footpath with the officer still on top of her (pictured)
But most of the people who vowed to protest never showed up.
Six people were arrested because they refused to provide their personal details to police, but were later released with a $1,652 fine after they complied.
Premier Dan Andrews had warned the time for leniency was over when he announced the tougher restrictions on Sunday August 2.
He promised to crackdown on those disobeying draconian lockdown rules, saying there would be more police and Australian Defence Force personnel out in force ensuring residents are abiding by the directions of the Chief Health Officer.
Huge fines of up to $19,826 for individuals and $99,132 for businesses will apply to anyone caught breaking the rules.
'Those doing the wrong thing will cop a fine from Victoria Police, because the only way to beat this deadly virus is if we all follow the rules,' Mr Andrews said.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton also issued a warning to anyone refusing to follow the rules.
'If you're not doing the right thing, we will not hesitate to issue infringements, to arrest you, to detain you where it's appropriate.'
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