Danny Lim’s bloody face makes us recoil yet again at police use of force

The law regarding police use of force is not clear-cut. Many grey areas remain. However, to begin to determine whether force is excessive, it’s important to look at the physical and verbal interaction between the police and the person they are apprehending.

In Lim’s matter, the video shows him merely standing and wearing his signs when police arrive. It is not obvious from the footage what offence, if any, Lim is alleged to have committed. The footage shows him doing very little. It’s not until police grab his arm that he begins to scream and pulls back.

In the worst-case scenario, even if Lim and his signs were of some concern to others in the QVB, a security guard could have simply asked him to leave. If Lim had not left, then police could have been called. Police do have powers to move people on from a public place, but only in certain circumstances.

In Lim’s case, it is difficult to know which power under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 the police relied on to move him on. If they did issue him with a move-on direction, they were required under law to give a warning and inform him that he was obligated to comply. Arrest may be appropriate where a person continues not to comply with a lawful direction. Even if Lim had failed to comply with such a direction, the maximum penalty would have been a fine of $220 – a minor summary offence.

Instead, as the video shows us, the officers proceeded to arrest Lim. Arrest is meant to be a last resort and only initiated when police suspect on reasonable ground that it is necessary. It is difficult to see how an arrest was necessary, especially since any alleged offence would have required only a fine.

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This response is what makes this footage and others like it so confronting. Even if Lim’s signs may not be to everyone’s liking and his presence not welcomed by all, it doesn’t mean police can use any level of force against him. Use of force can cause serious injury and trauma and, for this reason, it is meant to be limited.

Unfortunately, it is not until after the injury has been done that police may reflect on whether such force was necessary. This does little to curtail its use. In so many cases, prevention would be better than cure.

Large sums of money are paid out by the state every year to settle civil actions against police. I’m sure the public would prefer police to learn from those civil cases instead of acting in a way that risks another yet another civil action. In Lim’s case, the lesson has come way too late.

Samantha Lee is acting principal solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre.

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