Sydney Gay Community Plans March Against Police Brutality; Commissioner Says Arrested Teen Swore at Officers

Sydney's police commissioner says a teen seen being arrested with excessive force in a video shot during Saturday night's Mardi Gras festivities had sworn at police, the Sydney Morning Herald reports:

Mr Murdoch told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that the initial offence that led police to apprehend Mr Jackson was for offensive language. Mr Jackson was then charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest as a result of his interaction with the Fairfield officer and he will appear in court on April 1.

The state MP and gay rights campaigner, Alex Greenwich, said it was very concerning that a large police officer ‘‘body slammed’’ a teenage boy for swearing.

‘‘If the only thing that the individual did was use offensive language, then I think many would agree that the approach the police took to the situation and the body slam on the ground is certainly a heavy-handed approach to the matter,’’ he said.

...Mr Greenwich and the Mardi Gras board will meet with the Police Minister, Michael Gallacher, and the chair of this year’s Mardi Gras, Peter Urmson, said: "We’re not gonna let this get swept under the carpet".

Mr Murdoch said the officer from Fairfield was still on duty pending an internal investigation.

Also troubling is the arresting officer's order to the person filming to stop.

The video now has nearly 700,000 views and has provoked anger around the world.

Sydney activists groups are planning a march this Friday night and demanding an independent inquiry:

We are calling for everyone to meet at Taylor Square on Friday night to march to the Surry Hills Police Station to demand justice. Please join us! Urgent action is needed. We are peaceful protesters objecting to police violence.

A witness at the scene with her two teenaged sisters says the violent actions of the officers involved left her younger siblings seriously traumatised.

“They were crying while the police bashed the boy’s head into the cement,” she said. “It was horrible, disgusting behaviour.”

We demand an end to police violence against the LGBTI community and a full apology to Jamie Jackson and Bryn Hutchinson, and all victims of brutality at Mardi Gras 2013.

More than 1500 people have responded to the march's page on Facebook.

Shocking Incident of Police Brutality Caught on Camera at Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras: VIDEO

A press photographer caught what appears to be a troubling incident of police brutality on Saturday night on camera, as a reveler at Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was manhandled and assaulted in front of a crowd of onlookers.

Watch the clip (warning: violence), AFTER THE JUMP...

Writes the cameraman:

I was a press photographer for the parade, walking along the backstreets shortly after it had concluded between 11pm and 11:30pm, we heard a man screaming for repeatedly for help.

Walking over we saw him being restrained by two police officers with another 4 in close proximity, he was repeatedly asking them "What have I done wrong?" which they would not respond, all they would say was "you are under arrest". He calling for people walking past to help him and with a large crowd of people began to surround the event. He was struggling and resisting but not aggressively.

The officers told him to stop resisting to which he would reply "why are you doing this I haven't done anything?."
The officer "FAIRFIELD LAC 266" then grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head into the stone pavement, as he tried to get up he was then punched multiple times in the head, leaving blood all over the pavement. The crowd of people overlooking screaming at the officer to stop.

After seeing that I began filming.

What I found most shocking about this event is that the other officers seem to be aware that the amount of force they are using was completely unmerited and excessive. So they hastily try to force me to stop filming.

As a press photographer I knew I was completely within my rights to film police officers in a public space, doing nothing wrong and breaking no laws, so I refused. You will notice I ask multiple times why I am not allowed to film and what laws am I breaking and receive no response.

There were at least 6 officers in the immediate vicinity, the victim was only small and could have easily been restrained by the officers without injury. Instead they choice to force him into submission by repeatedly punching him and throwing him into the pavement.

You'll also hear him asking over and over what he has done wrong to which he doesn't get a response.

Watch the clip (warning: violence), AFTER THE JUMP...

UPDATE: Reports on the incident from the Sydney Morning Herald:

"I'll be calling for an investigation," said the state MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich. "From what we can see it does appear to be heavy handed and extremely concerning."

And the Australian site Same Same, which reports on another incident involving excessive force:

Bryn Hutchinson, who until last month was co-convener for Community Action Against Homophobia – the group that organises and holds large regular marriage equality rallies in central Sydney – has told Same Same that about 11.25pm on Saturday he was unexpectedly set upon by up to five police officers from Parramatta Local Command as he crossed the Oxford Street near the intersection of Crown Street.

Hutchinson, 32, was with his partner, his sister and her friend when they decided to leave a Taylor Square hotel just after 11pm. Hutchinson, who is soon to commence studies for his PhD at the University of Sydney in the field of Bioethics, says he was not drunk or disorderly, or offensive or rude in any way, when the incident occurred...

...Hutchinson, who stands at 169cm and weighs only 65 kgs, said after a brief conversation with the police officer during which he said he was simply crossing the road he decided to continue to the other side.

“I can’t remember if he said anything more, but basically it was a verbal interchange and there was no physical contact. Then I was grabbed from behind by several police officers and then thrown onto the ground on my back. Then another police officer was leaning over me and threatening to charge me. I don’t know what he wanted to charge me with. I just kept saying I wanted to simply cross the road.

James Franco Condemns Australian Censors for Banning Film Because of Gay Sex: VIDEO

Last month I reported that Australian censors had banned filmmaker Travis Mathews' film I Want Your Love because of its explicit scenes of gay male sex. Mathews film was scheduled for a tour of LGBT film festivals around Australia in cluding the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Sydney's Queer Screen, and the Brisbane Queer Film Festival.

The Age reported:

"Melbourne Queer Film Festival director Lisa Daniel says that in her 15 years at the festival, I Want Your Love is the first film that has been refused an exemption. It has been seen in many festivals around the world, and its distributors have told her this is the first time it has been banned. Mathews is a well-known filmmaker, and the decision is an embarrassment for Australia, she says."

Mathews is also James Franco's collaborator on the upcoming film Interior. Leather Bar inspired by William Friedkin's iconic film Cruising. Now, Franco is speaking out in a new video against the Australian censorship.

Says Franco:

"Frankly, adults should be able to choose. They're not going in blind. I don't know why in this day and age something like this, a film that is using sex not for titillation but to talk about being human, is being banned. It's just embarrassing."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Ellen Reflects on Coming Out, Career in Major Australian Interview: VIDEO

Ellen DeGeneres gave a lengthy interview to Tracy Grimshaw from Australia's A Current Affair about coming out, her show's success, and how being gay has shaped her life.

Said Ellen:

"I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I knew would possibly end my career. Instead of making business more important I made my soul and my life more important.And I think by being truthful, and being honest, that saved me."

She added that coming out also put her through a range of emotions and financial situations:

I was furious at the time because…I just felt like it was my fault...I was so mad that I lost my show, and not just my show but for three years I didn’t have any offers. I mean literally, the phone did not ring for three years and I had no money....All of a sudden just because of one revelation (gay) I was the joke. I was the punchline of every late night talk show, I was made fun of in a magazine, and it felt horrible at the time. Now I look back on it and I am thankful because it gave me a chance to examine myself and say who are you without fame, who are you without success, who are you without money?”

Ellen also talked about what it was like growing up in the racist South and how that shaped her perspective. She also talks about her upcoming trip to Australia, Finding Nemo, bullying, Joan Rivers, and her dancing.

Watch the excellent interview, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Clinton and Callum

Australia's Same Same profiles Clinton and Callum, who held their wedding in Watson's Bay, Australia in November after having a civil partnership in Great Britain:

We, like so many people in Australia, support marriage equality. When Callum proposed, we originally were going to wait until it became legal. There is just something special about exchanging vows that has more impact if they were legally recognised.

But the thought of waiting for 5, 10 or even 15 years for legalities to catch up with social opinion was just not an option for us. The thought of someone else deciding when we were ready for this next chapter in our lives didn’t seem to sit well – why should politics dictate when we feel that we are ready to get married, or at all?

To our friends and family this day is not a wedding between two men or even a civil ceremony, as it is most commonly called. But it is simply a wedding.

We hope that our day was an example to society of what a modern day wedding looks like. It’s not a man and a woman, a man and a man or even a woman and a woman… but two people, standing in front of the most important people in their lives expressing their love and devotion to each other, witnessed by family and friends and recognised my law.

Watch their video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Don't miss our other recent Gay Wedding videos...
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Bloomington, Indiana Mayor and 13 Same-Sex Couples [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Andrew and Rob [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Tony and Kevin [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Aaron and Danny [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Eli and Dave [tlrd]

Australian Town Overrun with Sea Foam: VIDEO

Remember that crazy video I posted yesterday of the storm-induced sea foam in Queensland, Australia 'giving birth' to a car? Well, here's much more footage of it in the town of Maroochydore. Unfortunately for these folks, toxicologists are warning folks about frolicking in it.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via the daily what)