NSW police admit assaulting pro-Palestine protester Hannah Thomas in 2025
Consensus Summary
The NSW state government has admitted in court documents that a police officer, Senior Constable Christopher Davis, punched former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas in the eye while holding a torch during a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney’s Belmore in June 2025. The admission, made in April 2026, confirms the incident constituted a battery and resulted in serious injuries requiring three surgeries, including a ruptured eyeball and fractured eye socket. Thomas, who weighed 45kg and was 156cm tall, was also falsely imprisoned during her arrest, with all charges against her dropped by the DPP in September 2025. The state has offered to pay her medical expenses but denies claims of malicious prosecution or malfeasance. Davis faces a criminal hearing in February 2026 for assault charges, while the protest targeted SEC Plating, which denies supplying components for weapons used in Gaza. Initial police statements suggested no misconduct was found in body-worn video, but the state’s later admissions contradict this, highlighting discrepancies in the investigation timeline.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas was punched in the right eye by Senior Constable Christopher Davis while holding a police torch during a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney on June 2025
- The NSW state government admitted in court documents (April 2026) that the punch constituted a battery and caused immediate bleeding and swelling to Thomas’s eye
- Thomas was arrested and charged alongside four others at a protest outside SEC Plating in Belmore, Sydney, on June 2025
- All charges against Thomas were dropped by the DPP in September 2025, three months after the incident
- Thomas was hospitalised and required three surgeries on her right eye due to the assault, with her lawyers claiming her eyeball was ruptured and her eye socket fractured
- The NSW state government admitted false imprisonment during Thomas’s arrest but denied malicious prosecution or malfeasance in public office
- Officer Christopher Davis is scheduled to face a criminal hearing in February 2026 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and recklessly causing grievous bodily harm
- Thomas weighed 45kg and was 156cm tall at the time of the incident (June 2025)
- The protest was organised by the group Weapons Out the West and targeted SEC Plating, which denies supplying components for weapons used in Gaza
- The NSW Police Force declined to comment on the civil case developments, citing ongoing litigation
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The incident took place outside SEC Plating, a manufacturing business in Belmore, Sydney’s south-west
- The state’s written defence to Thomas’s claim described the officer’s actions as ‘harm and damage’ and explicitly conceded the first and third use of force constituted a battery
- Senior police initially told ABC News in June 2025 that ‘no issues’ had been identified, but the matter was later referred to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission for a critical incident investigation
- An officer was initially charged with one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in September 2025, which was later upgraded to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm
- Thomas was awarded $22,000 in legal costs after charges were dropped
- The Guardian notes that Thomas’s lawyers claimed she was entitled to aggravated and exemplary damages, alleging Davis’s conduct was ‘manifestly excessive’ and a ‘grave departure’ from police powers, though the state denied this
- The Guardian includes a quote from Assistant Police Commissioner Brett McFadden (June 30, 2025) stating that ‘preliminary examination of some of the body-worn video’ did not show ‘any misconduct by any police officers’
- The Guardian specifies that Thomas was initially charged with resisting police and refusing or failing to comply with a direction to disperse, with a second charge relying on a rarely used emergency power introduced after the 2005 Cronulla riots, which was later withdrawn
- The state admitted a second battery by Officer Sen Const Pir Ali Noohpoto, who grabbed Thomas’s upper body before the punch, and that Noohpoto also took hold of her arms to remove her from a group of protesters
- The Guardian’s afternoon update includes unrelated news items (e.g., Neale Daniher’s funeral, Madonna’s video, El Niño weather) but focuses on the Thomas case in the lead paragraph
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The ABC states that the officer was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, while the Guardian initially reports he was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm (later upgraded)
- The Guardian notes that Assistant Police Commissioner Brett McFadden said in June 2025 that body-worn video showed ‘no misconduct,’ but the state later admitted battery and false imprisonment in court documents
- The ABC does not mention the emergency power charge introduced after the 2005 Cronulla riots, while the Guardian specifies it was used in Thomas’s second charge before being withdrawn
Source Articles
State government admits ex-Greens candidate battered by police officer
Lawyers for the state government have admitted police "battered" former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas at a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney last year.
NSW admits pro-Palestine protester Hannah Thomas was assaulted by police officers and falsely imprisoned
State admits former Greens candidate entitled to damages and agrees to pay medical costs, but denies malicious prosecution and malfeasance in public office Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The state of New South Wales has admitted that a police officer punched Hannah Thomas in the eye while holding a torch at a pro-Palestine protest – and it’s offered to pay her medical costs. Court documents seen by Guardian Aust
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