http://www.smh.com.au/news/0009/13/national/national6.html Lawyers accuse police of endangering lives as 200 claim injury By TONI O'LOUGHLIN Legal observers of the S11 protest yesterday officially complained to the Victorian Ombudsman that the police had endangered lives by using excessive force against the protesters blockading the World Economic Forum. Up to 200 protesters had been injured by police who had hit them on the head with batons, trampled them with horses, dragged them by the hair, punched, kicked, elbowed and bitten them and driven at high speed to disperse crowds, the team of legal observers said. Police are also not wearing their identification badges. Legal observers estimate 90 per cent of officers have taken off their name tags. Damien Lawson, of Melbourne's Western Suburbs Legal Centre, said: "This goes to the heart of accountability at this protest. If they can't be identified then they can act with impunity. "There was a young man who was baton-charged and lost two teeth and had to have emergency surgery." But police said that under the circumstances their actions were remarkably restrained. Four police were injured yesterday and two protesters were arrested for assaulting officers. So far, there have been four arrests. New Zealand politician Ms Sue Bradford, who was part of the blockade that was forcibly broken by the police to make way for the buses carrying World Economic Forum members, said: "We were given no chance to move. Wave after wave of police came stamping over our heads." Ms Bradford said that 50 of the 100 protesters she was sitting with were seriously injured and 11 were hospitalised. The legal team, comprising barristers, solicitors, law students and para-legals who came together to give protesters legal information, has taken 300 statements detailing claims of police using excessive force since the blockade began on Monday. Partners of the law firm Slater and Gordon have given their staff time off to attend the protest as legal observers. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
