Police claim they plan to prosecute a woman seen at a coronavirus checkpoint in Victoria who protested video being forcibly pulled from her car by a police officer.
She said she was passing through a checkpoint in the town of Wallan in a video posted on social media by Natalie Bonett, which was something she said she did “every day.”
She said she was held, armed with her licence and permit, before entering the checkpoint.
“The police officer told me that it was against the law to have my phone on a car charger mount on my windshield,” she wrote in a public Facebook post.
“I was in disbelief. He then attempted to get into my vehicle at which I started recording
“They called for backup and had four police officers grab me by the legs and pull me out of my car and arrest me.
“While trying to cuff me they had their knees in my back and couldn’t breathe.
“My blood is boiling.”
On Sunday afternoon police released a statement confirming officers spoke to Ms Bonett “at the checkpoint in relation to her mobile phone obstructing her view due to its position on the windscreen and explained that this was an offence”.
“The woman refused to remove her phone from the windscreen,” the spokesman said.
“The woman was warned that if she did not provide her details, she would be arrested,” the spoksman said.
“She still refused and was asked by police to get out of her car. When she refused this request, she was taken from the car by officers and taken into custody.
“The Wallan woman was later released and is expected to be charged on summons with driving with obscured vision, fail to produce licence, fail to state her name and address, resist arrest, assault police and offensive language.”