NSW Police Officer Who Punched Hannah Thomas Has Been Charged with Assault 

A New South Wales police officer who punched lawyer and human rights activist Hannah Thomas in her right eye has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The senior officer struck Thomas in the face as she questioned his capacity to issue a move-on direction at an antigenocide protest, where she was acting in the capacity of a legal observer.

Thomas was arrested alongside four others protesting the SEC Plating premises on Bidjigal land in the Sydney suburb of Belmore on 27 June 2025. Attending police didn’t confine their excessive use of force to Hannah either, as footage shows multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrators were assaulted by law enforcement. And Thomas had been told she may never see out of her right eye again.

As far as the charge laid on 23 September 2025 goes, section 59 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) prescribes a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison in cases where the prosecution is able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a person intentionally or recklessly committed an act of violence on another without the other person’s consent and thereby caused actual bodily harm, which is harm that is “more than transient or trifling”, and includes deep scratches, lasting abrasions or bruises – including a ‘black eye’ – or serious mental injury.

The long demonisation of the local pro-Palestinian movement on the part of NSW authorities is thought to have contributed to the extent of the excessive force that the officer did apply.

The three criminal offences that NSW police had initially laid against Thomas in the wake of the assault, which sought to criminalise her behaviour, were dropped on 9 September, as were the charges against her four co-accused. And she was then awarded $22,000 in legal costs late last week, and three of her co-accused were too awarded costs by Bankstown Local Court.

The onslaught of aggressive behaviour on the part of the attending NSW police officers has been considered the byproduct of a long campaign by NSW authorities to demonise the local pro-Palestine movement, while the Herald pointed to new evidence on Monday, which reveals officers were briefed prior to the rally, and were instructed to show “no tolerance” at the “unauthorised” event.

The Gaza genocide remains key

“It’s a relief that an officer has been charged for his actions on 27 June and that he is no longer on active duty,” said Thomas in a statement she posed online on 23 September. “It is my expectation that the charges will be upgraded to reflect the seriousness of the injury.”

“Ultimately, I hope he takes responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty and apologising,” said the lawyer, who has impressed much of the public by how she has taken the incident in her stride. “I’d forgive him if he did.”

Thomas ran against PM Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler, as part of the federal election in May this year. The Australian Greens candidate was a voice for those concerned to see the end of the Israeli-perpetrated genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza. And following the assault against her, Thomas has consistently refocused the spotlight back on the atrocities in Gaza, when it falls on her.

The lawyer further insists that the officer who lashed out with extreme force is just a “foot soldier” in the war being waged by NSW authorities to prevent constituents from speaking out against the slaughter in Gaza. She raised the point that this is so local companies, like SEC Plating, can continue to trade in weapons and parts with Israel, while it has potentially killed up to 680,000 Gazans.

“This outcome is a vindication for every person who has protested for Palestine and been smeared for it,” Thomas underscored. “I hope it encourages people to question the narrative pushed by politicians in relation to protesters, and to defend their right to protest by exercising it.”

Calls for officer to be stood down

NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson said in a 23 September statement that the charging of the senior police officer with assault in respect of his having punched Thomas further warrants NSW police assistant commissioner Brett McFadden being stood down, as he conveyed that he and other commanders and experts had viewed the body-worn footage and no misconduct had taken place.

Higginson recalled that McFadden stated just days after the incident that there was “no information at this stage that’s before me that indicates any misconduct on behalf of my officers”. The Greens justice spokesperson added that she’s written to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), the NSW police commissioner and the NSW police minister calling for him to be stood down.

Thomas said that she had been shown the footage of her assault after the senior cop had been charged and she finds it “incomprehensible that an assistant commissioner could have seen what I saw and defended the behaviour of the uniformed thugs at Belmore that morning”, and she added that it is hard to conclude that he wasn’t trying “to cover up the blatant misconduct of his officers”.

The new information from the Herald on Monday revealed, via new court documents, that officers were told prior to the protest outside SEC Plating that they were to show “no tolerance” towards the protesters as they were engaging in an “unauthorised” rally. The briefing took place at Campsie police station, and officers were instructed to issue that move-on orders that heightened tensions.

“That charges have now been dropped against protesters and laid against a cop proves the truth of the SEC Plating protest,” Hannah continued in her statement on Tuesday. “Police were the aggressors and there is no such thing as an unauthorised protest.”

Demonisation of the protester

Thomas further considers that the senior police officer being charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm is a vindication for all activists present, including protest group Weapons Out the West, as some have been criticised for attending the rally against SEC Plating, which stands charged with exporting steel plating that assists in building the F-35 fighter jets being used in the killing in Gaza.

The lawyer further added that it also reveals the cops to be the aggressors and that “there is no such thing as an unauthorised protest”, and she criticised “top cops and senior politicians, including the prime minister”, who have lied about protesters and also encouraged law enforcement officers to take a “violent, no tolerance” policing approach to antigenocide and pro-Palestinian activists.

The crackdown on protests in NSW has involved both sides of the political divide, with the former NSW Coalition Perrottet government enacting laws in response to climate defence actions in April 2022, which involve prohibitions on obstructing major roads, tunnels and bridges, along with major facilities, that carry up to 2 years prison time and fines of up to $22,000.

The NSW Labor Minns government of the moment has continued to demonise protests and has attempted to shut them down. Recent move-on orders in respect of demonstrations near places of worship have been seen as moves to enable rallies to be shut down almost anywhere, and there were suggestions that misunderstandings over this new law led to the assault on Thomas.

In terms of the NSW Police Force seeking to downplay the seriousness of one of its officers king-hitting a legal observer at a protest, who challenged the legitimacy of his issuing a move-on order – as did multiple other demonstrators present at the event – not only did it deny any assault took place, but it initially charged Thomas under a large-scale public disorder law to frame her as a rioter.

“I am acutely aware that charges may have never been brought against this officer if I wasn’t a very privileged victim,” concluded Thomas, the human rights advocate.

“My thoughts are with the many victims of police brutality, particularly First Nations people, who never see justice.”