Victoria Police Arrest 62 Anti-Lockdown Protesters In Melbourne

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2021) Australia's Victoria state police arrested 62 protesters for "criminal conduct" on Tuesday after a crowd of around 2,000 flooded the streets of Melbourne to protest COVID-19 restrictions, police commissioner Shane Patton said.

"We conducted over the day 62 arrests... We will continue to investigate and determine what other offenses people have committed, and we will seek to arrest other people and hold them to account for this disgraceful conduct," he told a news conference.

The commissioner said three police officers and a reporter were injured during the rally. Large groups of men converged on police cars, damaged police property and hurled flares, rocks and bottles at the officers.

Police used pepper ball rounds, smoke rounds, stinger grenades containing small rubber pellets, and foam batons against protesters.

This was the second day of protests started by construction workers after Australian authorities halted construction for two weeks to curb the spread of the coronavirus. People from all walks of life joined the Tuesday demonstration in downtown Melbourne.

Victoria premier Dan Andrews warned on Twitter that anger would not make the pandemic end quicker and urged everyone to get vaccinated.

"Acts of violence like we've seen in the city in the last two days isn't going to stop people ending up in ICU, or be any help to the nurses treating them. Literally only one thing will - getting vaccinated," he wrote.