A Sydney grandmother said she suffered four broken vertebrae after being “violently” pushed to the ground while trying to leave a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia.
In another incident, grandfather Ian Payne suffered a sizeable gash on his elbow after having his arms placed behind his back by police at the same event.
Protesters went on social media to share vision showing rally attendees and police clashing near Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday night.
Some protesters felt police actions were disproportionate. (Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday defended the actions of the police, with Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna saying officers were “threatened, jostled and assaulted” during “a number of melees, rolling fights” and “violent behaviour”.
About 6,000 people who attended the protest wanted to march to NSW Parliament despite the Public Assembly Restriction Declaration (PARD) and Major Events Act declaration issued ahead of the Israeli president’s visit, making it unlawful to do so.
‘I got really scared’
Grandmother Jann Alhafny and Mr Payne met while receiving treatment for their injuries at Sydney Hospital on Monday night following the protest.
Speaking from her hospital bed, Ms Alhafny said she had been trying to leave the protest when “police just charged at everybody”.
The 69-year-old said a riot squad officer pushed her in the chest, and she hit the concrete “very hard”.
“Everyone was getting pushed, and they all fell on top of me,” she said.
“I got really scared I was going to get suffocated and was yelling for help.
“He [the officer] was screaming ‘get up, get up’ and I said, ‘I can’t, I’ve injured my back’.”
A spokesperson for NSW Police said it was not aware of the incidents.
Police said investigators were continuing to review body camera and social media footage of the event.
Jann Alhafny, 69, was treated for broken vertebrae after she was injured during the protest. (Supplied)
Ms Alhafny said the officer “violently yanked [her] up with one arm and told me to move”.
“It was agony when he pulled me up, absolute agony,” she said.
Another protester helped her hobble to a bench, where she called an ambulance.
After receiving a scan in hospital, she said she was told that she had four broken vertebrae.
‘Indescribably bad’
Ms Alhafny shared her story with Mr Payne, who had been placed in the hospital bed next to her.
The 78-year-old Bella Vista man, who described himself as a political agnostic, attended the rally with his daughter, prominent activist Larissa Payne, and NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd.
“I spoke to Jann, I was very worried for her,” Mr Payne said.
Ian Payne’s elbow was injured during the incident. (Supplied)
Mr Payne had suffered a cut to his elbow that required six stitches and an X-ray to rule out a fracture.
The grandfather said police had pulled both his arms behind his back, and when they released him, “there was blood everywhere”.
“I’m not a professional protester but what I saw last night… that’s brought me into the real world. It was indescribably bad,” he said.
Mr Payne said he, his daughter and Ms Boyd had been told to move down a flight of stairs, and he had “put his arm around them to protect them”.
He said things “really got violent” as the trio moved toward a group of people praying in the street.
“That’s when I got injured. Larissa was dragged away from me, that’s when Abigail got injured,” he said.
Greens MP injured
Greens MP Abigail Boyd said she suffered a neck injury during last night’s clash between protesters and police. (Supplied)
Ms Boyd can be seen in footage from the scene being pushed by officers twice at the protest.
She was also treated at Sydney Hospital and placed in a neck brace.
Mr Payne said it took hours to be seen by clinicians as the emergency department was crammed with injured protesters.
“I’m an old bloke that’s been around, but I was shocked at the level of the brutality,” he said.
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The protest was organised by Palestine Action Group (PAG).
Twenty-seven people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting police.
Nine people have since been charged, with five of those accused of assaulting police.
A further six people are expected to be charged with a range of offences.
Police actions ‘justified’Nine people charged over violent CBD protest clashes
A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said five protesters were transported to hospital suffering various injuries, including a woman in her 60s for a back injury.
Paramedics also treated two police officers at the scene, including one who allegedly had his thumb bitten by a protester.
Assistant Commissioner McKenna said officers had been “significantly outnumbered by the protesters and the people who wanted to act in a violent and offensive manner”.
“I absolutely think police actions were justified,” he said.
Mr Minns said police negotiated with PAG for days to move the protest to Hyde Park, which was excluded from the current protest restrictions.
He said authorities had attempted to do “everything possible” to avoid clashes.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said: “The police did what they needed to do, which was to hold the line and then form and move the protesters back with a view dispersing them.”
“That was designed to keep the community safe. An angry and violent mob marching on police is not a situation I want our officers in.”