Overview
- Hannah Thomas was hospitalised after a June 27, 2024, protest in Belmore when an officer punched her in the right eye, she underwent multiple surgeries and now has permanent vision damage and ongoing side effects.
- In a defence filed in the NSW Supreme Court, the state admits Thomas was the victim of battery and unlawfully imprisoned and says she is entitled to damages and reasonable medical expenses.
- Thomas’s civil claim still seeks aggravated and exemplary damages and alleges misfeasance in public office, which police deny, so the civil action will continue alongside the criminal case.
- A 33-year-old senior constable has been charged over the incident, with the charge upgraded to include recklessly causing grievous bodily harm; he has pleaded not guilty and the matter is set for a hearing next February.
- The case follows withdrawn charges against Thomas and three other protesters and feeds broader scrutiny of NSW protest policing, oversight by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and falling public confidence in police.