Police in New South Wales have been filmed tearing a mother from her screaming child as they placed her under arrest for what appeared to be peacefully protesting.
The video, which was uploaded to social media on Saturday, shows the woman wearing a bright yellow cardboard sign that read: “If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any. Magna Carta”
The distressing footage shows an acting inspector taking hold of the woman who was, at the time, standing calmly with her young child in hand.
“My son’s with me,” the woman said to the arresting officer. “I’m not under arrest for anything. You need to get your hands off me.”
Bystanders began to question the officers’ justification for the woman’s arrest, however, no reason from police can be heard in the video. Throughout the video the woman continues to proclaim her innocence, telling officers she has committed no offence.
The mother’s demeanour was calm and she appeared to be of sound mind in the footage. At the time of filming, the woman displayed no signs of physical aggression towards police and was coherent when asking the reason and justification for her arrest.
Towards the end of the video, the young child can be seen grasping his mother tightly around the neck, begging the police to not take her away. Officers are then seen tearing the child from his mother as he kicked and screamed for her. Police then led the woman away and placed her into the back of a caged police vehicle.
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