A protester injured in a clash with a police horse at Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre has failed in his bid to force police to reveal their tactics.
The Supreme Court of Victoria’s Court of Appeal upheld a County Court ruling that had earlier excluded evidence of police strategies on the grounds they attracted public interest immunity and were not relevant.
Mark Ryan had sought damages for injuries he alleges he sustained while taking part in a demonstration outside the detention centre in May 2011.
When protesters, including Ryan, formed a chain by linking arms, police forced them back and Ryan fell over.
Ryan alleged a police officer caused her horse, Troophorse Upwey, to advance on protesters and roll on Ryan “using a rehearsed, controlled manoeuvre”.
He claims he fractured a clavicle while his chest and shoulder were bruised.
The police officer alleged her horse stumbled and fell partially onto her side before regaining her footing and that Ryan ‘‘voluntarily assumed the risk’’ by placing himself in the path of the horse.
Ryan sought to challenge the claim of public interest immunity over redacted portions of the mounted branch’s Defence Tactics Manual 2012.
But Justice Pamela Tate found the claims for public interest immunity and lack of relevance should be upheld.
She found admitting the documents in evidence would “prejudice the proper functioning of the government”.
“It’s clear the documents in dispute cannot themselves reveal what conduct was actually engaged in,” she said.
