Botched Victoria police raid ‘may cost man his arm’

I rarely put up accounts of police thuggery these days as the thuggery is so common that the police Australia-wide are clearly out of control and look set to remain that way. This case where an innocent man was tortured causing serious injury really gets my goat, however. If I were able I would ensure that each cop on the raid got the identical treatment to what they dished out to the innocent man, even if it did result in a group of one-armed cops. That might help to persuade them that they are not Nazi Storm Troopers


A man mistaken for a carjacker may lose the use of his arm after he was seriously injured during a botched police raid in Melbourne.

Nik Dimopoulos was arrested outside a bookshop on Johnston Street in Fitzroy around 2.30am on Saturday after police tracked a stolen car.

“The man police arrested was mistakenly identified as the suspect police were searching for that had fled the stolen vehicle nearby," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said on Sunday.

The stolen car was allegedly involved in a home invasion and car jacking, and was spotted speeding on the Eastlink before it was tracked to an address in Fitzroy.

But bookshop owner Rowland Thomson said on social media at no stage did police identify themselves or what they were doing.

“They just stormed into a dark room shining torches and it was impossible to identify them as police," he wrote on Facebook.

The injured man had his hands tethered behind his back “way beyond what can be endured", he said.

He may lose the use of his left arm and would have to undergo surgery, according to Mr Thomson.

Premier Daniel Andrews said his government was reaching out to Mr Dimopoulos and his family to offer their support.

“It would have been terrifying, he’s obviously got serious injuries and I want to assure every Victorian he’s getting the very best of care," Mr Andrews said on Sunday.

“We will look very closely at what has happened." The police has acknowledged the distress the situation caused the victim and an investigation is underway into the incident, a Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/botched-raid-may-cost-man-his-arm/news-story/b12651d01e9246b0064dab39a0b3d74b