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.'
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