Police admit mistakes in Town Hall confrontation

Victoria Police have acknowledged making errors in their handling of a confrontation between Jewish community members and pro-Palestinian protesters outside Melbourne Town Hall in February.

Internal documents reveal police made false public statements about the incident and should not have issued them with a “move on” order.

Documents released under Freedom of Information laws show police incorrectly told media that Mark and Sharon Kuper did not have valid tickets to attend a Melbourne City Council meeting where a motion in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza was being debated and had not reported being assaulted, when both claims were wrong.

During a media conference the day after the 20 February incident, police said neither had tickets, that Sharon was only on a standby list and that Mark’s registration was in another name. They also claimed the couple had not reported being assaulted.

However, Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson later told colleagues that video footage “clearly shows” both statements were incorrect – the Kupers did have valid tickets and Mark Kuper had sought to report the assault at the scene.

The FOI papers also reveal police used “move-on” powers to order the couple away from the area for 24 hours, despite internal briefings noting such powers could not lawfully be applied to protest situations.

Responding to the revalations, Victoria Police say they “directed two men to move on from outside Melbourne Town Hall on 20 February 2024 after they walked through a protest group of more than 200 people, leading to a confrontation.”

A Professional Standards Command investigation determined the decision to remove the two men was “lawful, proportionate, reasonable, and justified,” though it found “it would have been more appropriate to limit this to a smaller geographical area and shorter timespan.”

The statement acknowledged, “Victoria Police’s original media statement on this incident stated that both men did not have valid tickets to enter Town Hall. This statement was based on the available facts at the time of issuance, however following further inquiries, it was determined only one of the men did not hold a valid ticket.”

Police said a new media statement was prepared highlighting that only one of the men did not hold a valid ticket, however it was not issued as no further media enquiries were received.

Victoria Police charged three men with unlawful assault, but this was “ultimately withdrawn at court by prosecutors after it was determined there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.”

Sharon Kuper told The AJN she was disturbed by the revelations.

“They did profile us unjustly and describe us as ‘Israeli agitators’ despite the fact we are neither Israeli nor agitators. We are Australian Jews who didn’t realise following explicit police directions to the doorway made us deserving of assault and vilification under police watch.”

She said “the entire police report whitewashed the assault. And those 3 assailants are still leading the attacks on Jews in streets and universities 19 months later.”

Kuper wants Victoria Police to acknowledge they removed the victims instead of the perpetrators and recognise that this “set a grave precedent that emboldened the anti-Israel mobsters.”

“That very night, the flow on effect of green-lighting assaults and vilification was that Rukshan Fernando was assaulted just an hour later, right in front of police who failed to intercede. Then an hour after that the mobsters vilified some of the Jewish female speakers as they left the town hall, calling them ‘baby killers’ and genociders.”

Sharon Kuper believes the decision to prosecute was political rather than evidential, noting police initially declined to press charges but changed their position after the “violent Land Forces protests.”

“I can only deduce the police are under political pressure to appease the anti-Israel mobs, whose votes are far more numerous than ours,” she said.

She highlighted lasting impacts on the Jewish community.

“The rest of us have mostly had to re-assess our own safety by hiding our identities and avoiding the city as we are all cognisant that we would likely be targeted and police would be likely to sanction us rather than our attackers.”

The mishandling prompted 40 complaints to Victoria Police’s Professional Standards Command, including seven from interstate and four from overseas, focusing on failures to protect Jewish attendees and the decision to remove them rather than alleged offenders.