Report Accuses Aus Police of Heavy Handedness

Australian gay newspaper the Sydney Star Observer says that a new report found that policing of the Mardi Gras Festival Events by New South Wales police was unncessarily heavy handed.  The report was compiled by Inner City Legal Centre and the University of New South Wales.  At the Mardi Gras, the paper notes, tensions were particularly high between the community and the police force, given that a police officer stands accused of the brutal homophobic murder of a popular and loving gay couple, Luke Davies and Jesse Baird.  After this heartbreaking event, police were asked not to appear in the parade in uniform in hopes of minimising the distress on the community, according to organisers.  The report found that policing including strip searches and questioning, had been unnecessarily aggressive.  UNSW Law and Justice Associate professor Vicki Sentas says the level of disruption and distress caused to the LGBTQI+ community by the police was striking.  https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/policing-at-mardi-gras-was-aggressi...