A climate protester who alleged their head was repeatedly slammed by members of Victoria police’s riot squad in 2019 has reached a settlement with the state.
Timothy Buchanan, 39, alleged their head was slammed into a metal wall, the ground and a glass door that their head was then used to open, during their arrest at a protest at an international mining conference in Melbourne.
Victoria police paid the protester a sum of $90,000 as part of the settlement in the civil case in which Buchanan alleged police misconduct, Guardian Australia has confirmed.
The settlement was reached in February, within days of the commencement of a class action trial against Victoria police in the supreme court in relation to alleged excessive use of oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray at the same mining conference.
“Victoria police does not comment on the specifics of civil settlements or settlement amounts,” a spokesperson for the force said.
“The settlement decision had nothing to do with separate legal proceedings relating to OC spray.”
Buchanan, a Wiradjuri person, participated in the protest at the International Mining and Resources Conference (Imarc) held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in October 2019, where police arrested scores of protesters amid hostile scenes.
In their statement of claim filed with the Victorian county court in 2022, Buchanan claimed that during the protest on 29 October 2019, Sgt Nicholas Bolzonello, a member of Victoria police’s Public Order Response Team, grabbed them by the shirt and pushed against their chest before they were tackled by five other officers. Bolzonello was not personally sued in the case.
In its defence document filed with the court, the state argued the use of force was not disproportionate due to the threat posed to Bolzonello by Buchanan and to the objective of keeping the area, where an arrest was occurring, “safe and free from protestors”. The defence argued Bolzonello’s actions were in response to Buchanan’s, including attempting to pull the police officer towards protesters and breaking free during an attempted arrest.
Buchanan went on to claim that the arresting officers, which did not include Bolzonello, then allegedly tackled and repeatedly slammed their head into the ground.
The state argued Buchanan resisted police members during the arrest. It said the five officers took hold of Buchanan to control their movements and arrest them, and that the protester was taken to the ground to allow the arrest to take place.
The state said it otherwise denied the allegations regarding the arrest.
Buchanan alleged that after their arrest Bolzonello slammed their head into a metal wall multiple times. The state denied the allegation in the defence.
It was alleged Bolzonello subsequently slammed Buchanan’s head into a glass door, and then used the pressure on the activist’s head to open the door.
The defence argued Buchanan resisted while being escorted from the exhibition centre to a police vehicle by Bolzonello and another police officer.
Bolzonello placed his hand on the protester’s head to control their movements and protect himself from their “continued erratic movements”, the state said.
It said Buchanan’s resistance increased as police members attempted to open the glass door, including trying to escape the officer’s hold on them.
The defence admitted “one or more parts” of Buchanan’s body came into contact with the glass door as the police members and activist were passing through the door as the officers sought to readjust their grip to retain control of Buchanan.
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“Bolzonello’s hold on the plaintiff’s head was for the purposes of controlling [their] movement as they moved through the door,” the defence said.
“After they passed through the door the police members placed the plaintiff against the wall so as to control the movements of the plaintiff as [Buchanan] was continuing to resist.”
The claim also alleged that Bolzonello made “derogatory” comments at Buchanan, including calling them a “faggot” between the arrest and transfer into the police vehicle. The state denied the allegation.
Buchanan’s claim argued the alleged actions of police officers towards them were disproportionate, equated to excessive force and were unlawful.
It alleged officers did not inform the activist of their arrest, constituting false imprisonment, and that the actions of police officers breached their duties under the state’s human rights charter.
The state said the arrest was lawful and Buchanan was informed of it at the earliest reasonable opportunity.
The claim said as a result of the alleged actions of officers, Buchanan had suffered psychological injury and aggravation of anxiety and depression. The state denied this.
The claim alleged Bolzonello acted with “contumelious disregard” for Buchanan’s rights as the protester “had been arrested, restrained and posed no threat of harm or violence” to police officers or members of the public. The state rejected the allegation.
Police dropped charges, including assaulting an emergency worker, against Buchanan, Guardian Australia has confirmed. The protester pleaded guilty to a charge of obstruction in 2022, without a conviction.
Buchanan told Guardian Australia they felt a sense of “compensation but not justice” after the settlement was reached, in which the state made no admissions.
“I don’t want this to happen to people,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan’s lawyer, Jeremy King, said Victoria police had an “unfortunate history with protesters”.
“You’ve got to remember that free speech and peaceful protests are fundamental to our democratic society,” he said.
“There is no meaningful independent oversight of police in Victoria. The only way you can hold them to account is by bringing civil proceedings. Otherwise, nothing happens and there is no accountability.”
