Aussie in infamous Covid incident dies
EXCLUSIVE
A man who was thrown to the ground by a police officer during Melbourne's Covid lockdown has died.
Daniel Peterson-English's arrest made headlines after disturbing footage showed him being tackled to the ground at Melbourne's Flinders Street Station by acting sergeant Beau Barrett in September 2021.
The footage, which circulated widely on social media around the world at the time, showed Mr Barrett walking up behind Mr Peterson-English before throwing him to the ground.
Mr Barrett was charged with recklessly causing injury and assault over the incident, which occurred on the same day an anti-lockdown protest was held in the city's CBD.
However the case was later dismissed.
Three and a half years on from the confronting incident, Mr Peterson-English's mother, Margaret, said her son has passed away. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
The 32-year-old died on March 15, his mother said, according to Mark Tarrant, a Sydney-based lawyer and filmmaker.
Margaret described her son as a 'fragile young man totally abused by the state'.
A coroner's report will be released in June.
'Very disturbed'
In the disturbing footage of Mr Peterson-English's arrest, the 32-year-old's head could be heard hitting the hard floor and a pair of headphones were knocked off.
According to a caption written by the woman who initially posted the video, the man was knocked unconscious and there was 'blood and urine everywhere'.
'This poor guy was calm, he was just talking to the police,' the caption said.
'You can see it in the video then he gets thrown to the ground. You can hear his face hit the tiles.'
The woman later told news.com.au the man was unconscious 'for a while' and when he woke up was calling for his mother.
'We are all very disturbed by this and I've been inundated with people worldwide wanting to know if this man is all right,' she said.
'We understand the paramedics looked at him but not sure what happened after that.'
Before he was tackled to the ground, Mr Peterson-English was arrested, fined for not wearing a mask, and released, The Age reported. The tackle occurred after he returned to the area,the publication reported.
Mr Peterson-English's lawyer, Kim Bainbridge said the incident was followed by a 'severe psychiatric reaction'.
'He had pre-existing mental health issues which have been exacerbated by the trauma that he suffered at the hands of this police officer,' Mr Bainbridge said in 2022.
Mr Peterson-English later told Melbourne Magistrates' Court he lived with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The court heard he refused to go to hospital after the alleged assault.
'Like a piece of meat'
Mr Tarrant, who featured Mr Peterson-English's arrest in his documentary 'Covid Safe – Domestic Violence By The State' said the 32-year-old was a 'kind hearted' person who was friends with Melbourne's homeless.
'His mother said if he had any money, he would hand it out to the homeless. He was generous and kind hearted. He didn't mean any harm to anyone,' Mr Tarrant told news.com.au.
He said the 32-year-old was very close with Margaret, who had to celebrate her first Mother's Day on Sunday without him.
'Margaret's very much down about what's happened to her son, and it's not easy for Margaret.'
Mr Tarrant said the September 2021 arrest 'traumatised' Mr Peterson-English, who he said had a face mask exemption and 'wasn't part of any protest'.
'If you're in a fragile state, being smashed to the ground like a piece of meat isn't going to help is it? I mean, why would you, as a human being (doing that?)' Mr Tarrant questioned.
'Daniel came back home totally distressed and in a real mess, so nobody knew what had happened to him, and then somebody saw that footage.'
Mr Tarrant said the incident continued to affect Mr Peterson-English and he never returned to the CBD.
'He just couldn't go back again. He loved Melbourne and the city and the people.'
Mr Peterson-English wanted an apology for what had happened to him, his mother said.
There are hopes the coroner's report will provide more detail into the cause of his death.
'The trauma that happened to him was horrific. I mean just watching it, imagine going through what happened to him,' he said.
Victorian Libertarian MP David Limbrick said he was 'deeply saddened' to hear about Mr Peterson-English's passing.
'By all accounts Daniel was a selfless guy who cared about others,' he told news.com.au.
'Nobody deserved to be treated like he was at Flinders Street Station. I remember watching the video and, like many Victorians, it made me feel sick. While it's easy to see police as villains in this situation, we should remember it all started with the demonisation of anti-lockdown protesters by the Government.
'I think it is really important we reflect on this dark period in our history and how people were treated as second class citizens. This should never happen again.'
'Sling tackle' after 'taunt'
In 2022, Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard Mr Peterson-English had attended an anti-lockdown rally in the city, but had found himself displaced from protesters and began to 'taunt' officers at the station.
Witness Jacob Wright, a Victoria Police protective services officer, told the court Mr Peterson-English was 'swearing and rambling' as he filmed officers inside the station.
Zachery McLeod, another officer present, described Mr Peterson-English's behaviour as 'heightened', and said he was constantly shouting anti-police rhetoric.
In footage played to the court, Mr Peterson-English could be heard calling police 'dogs', 'pigs' and insults using swear words.
Acting Senior Sergeant Luke Billing said he watched the arrest unfold, describing how Mr Barrett allegedly used a 'seat belt take-down', which police are trained to use.
He said Mr Peterson-English slipped during the manoeuvre, and landed on his head.
Senior Sergeant Matthew Hargreaves, a Victoria Police expert from the Centre of Operational Safety who reviewed the footage, alleged Mr Barrett used a 'sling tackle' during the arrest.
'We consider it to be dangerous, a process that should be avoided,' he said.
'The technique doesn't demonstrate due care to minimise risk of injury.'
Charges dropped
The case was thrown out in 2023, with Magistrate Rob Stary finding a jury could not conclude whether Mr Barrett had acted unlawfully.
'It may be that the arrest was executed in a way that is not in strict accordance with the manual, but whether it could be said to be unlawful and whether it could be said to be done without any regard to the probable consequences and criminal intent, in my view a jury properly instructed could not convict Mr Barrett of those offences,' he told the court.
Mr Stary said Mr Peterson-English had disregarded repeated requests from the officers to leave the station.
'Mr Peterson-English acts in a manner that is entirely provocative,' Mr Stary said at the time.
Victoria Police reached a confidential settlement with Mr Peterson-English. Mr Tarrant understands Mr Peterson-English was subject to a gag order as part of his settlement.
Victoria Police told news.com.au the police officer involved has returned to operational duties following an internal investigation.
'The internal discipline board has finalised an investigation into an incident at Flinders Street railway station on 22 September, 2021,' police said.
'A senior constable from north-west metro has undergone further training and has returned to operational duties following the incident that occurred while they were on-duty.
'The internal investigation followed the criminal case which was heard before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court and discharged on 24 February.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Sydney man charged after allegedly stranding family overseas
A southwest Sydney man who allegedly stranded his wife and one-year-old child in Pakistan is facing human trafficking charges. The Australian Federal Police's Eastern Command Human Trafficking team launched an investigation in February 2025, after a woman reported her husband had left her in Pakistan without documentation after the family travelled overseas together from Australia. It will be alleged the man, 45, deceptively convinced his wife and child to travel with him to Pakistan in August 2024. On arrival, he allegedly took the child's passport and abandoned the pair at the airport. He returned to Australia by himself later that month. The man then allegedly fraudulently cancelled the Australian visa of his wife in November 2024, and retained possession of the child's passport. The wife reported the matter to the AFP when she was able to return to Australia in February this year. AFP investigators engaged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to facilitate the child's return to Australia. The child was born in Australia and is an Australian citizen. AFP investigators executed a search warrant at an Austral home on Thursday and seized a number of electronic items and documents. The man was later charged with two counts of trafficking a person from Australia using deception. The offences carries a maximum 12 year prison sentence. He was also charged with one count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. That charge carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Needham said the allegations in this matter could be described as potential 'exit trafficking' offences. 'Carrying out actions to force or encourage someone to travel overseas and then impede their ability to return to Australia can be a serious criminal offence, and the AFP will not hesitate to act when we have evidence of criminal actions,' Detective Needham said. 'Exit trafficking offences quite often occur within family units or in situations where close relationships have disintegrated, and there is a concern these types of offences are under-reported in Australia. 'The AFP encourages anyone who suspects they, or someone they know, has been a victim of exit trafficking to come forward. All complaints will be taken seriously and appropriately assessed with dignity, and the AFP can help victims obtain the support and assistance they require.'

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Popular gaming-inspired bean bag pulled from Target shelves over severe safety risk
A popular PAC-Man gaming beanbag has been urgently taken off shelves after failing to adhere to safety standards. The bright yellow PAC-Man styled beanbag cover, which is used for gaming and available for purchase at Target stores and online across the country, has been recalled due to a lack of correctly-displayed safety warning tags. 'The product does not comply with the mandatory standard for beanbags,' the ACCC said in a statement. 'The required safety warning labels are not displayed correctly.' The ACCC said there was a severe risk of injury or death from suffocating or choking if young children access the polystyrene filling or try and climb inside the beanbag. It was available for purchase between March 30 2025 and May 14 2025, was sold by Plan B International Hong Kong Limited and has the Target keycode 70744552. The ACCC has urged customers to 'stop using the product immediately' and keep it out of reach of young children.

ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Prosecution failed to prove Joshua Wright was armed before murder of John Simpson, court finds
A New South Wales Supreme Court justice has found prosecutors failed to prove a man who has admitted to murder confronted his victim armed with a gun. Joshua Wright, 36, has pleaded guilty to murdering his housemate John Simpson, 42, at a property on Great North Road, Laguna in April 2023. Mr Simpson's body was found several months later in a shallow grave on a neighbouring property. Ahead of Wright's sentencing a disputed facts hearing was held before Justice Richard Cavanagh, SC, regarding who had the gun before Mr Simpson was shot. The Crown argued Wright took a rifle from a cupboard inside the Laguna home before going out to the shed and shooting Mr Simpson. This version of events has been disputed by the defence. Wright told police he went to the shed to confront Mr Simpson after coming home from work to find his two dogs had been seized by the RSPCA. He claimed the gun was already in the shed and that Mr Simpson swung at him, which led to a scuffle during which the firearm discharged. The defence does not dispute that Wright then deliberately shot Mr Simpson. The court was played an excerpt from his police interview in which Wright said the first shot that hit Mr Simpson was unintentional. When asked about the second shot Mr Wright said, "I don't know why I did it". "I think he was already dead … there was so much blood," he said. "I didn't mean for it to happen … I didn't go up there to shoot him … I just wanted to hit him." The court heard the second shot struck Mr Simpson in the neck/upper back area. Wright was asked during his police interview if he remembers taking aim at Mr Simpson. "Not full aim," Wright said. Another housemate of the pair, Jeremy McLaughlin, told the court that on the afternoon of the shooting he went to his room to avoid any confrontation. He said he knew the cupboard where the rifle was kept was being opened because it had "a unique sound". Mr McLaughlin told the court he saw Wright in the hallway but did not see him open the cupboard. Another witness told the court that Wright said to him, "I picked up my gun, walked outside, then boom boom, it was over". The defence has argued both witnesses are unreliable as they lied to police on several occasions. Justice Cavanagh has found the Crown did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Wright took the gun from cupboard before Mr Simpson was shot. Wright is expected to be sentenced later this week and the disputed facts will be considered during the process.