Former Greens councillor demands apology as Queensland police again drop charges

Last October, the former Brisbane city Greens councillor found himself arrested while peacefully protesting on a public footpath outside the Land Forces Weapons Expo at the Convention Centre in South Brisbane. Despite asserting that he did not block roads or access to the building, he faced charges of trespass and obstructing police, which was subsequently dropped by the Queensland police service officers this month.

This incident marked the second time he had been arrested, only for the police to later abandon the case. In 2020, another charge against him was dropped after being arrested for allegedly disregarding a police direction during a refugee rights protest. Additionally, in 2021, a fine issued against him for purportedly running a yellow light on a bicycle while returning from an Invasion Day rally was also withdrawn.

Remarkably, the officer who fined him had been criticizing the former councillor on social media for approximately 18 months but claimed not to have identified him until after pulling him over.

For this accountant reader who enjoys numbers, it is evident that this series of incidents involve various encounters with the law, highlighting the importance of legal and procedural fairness in law enforcement actions.