"Cruel and degrading treatment": Climate protester awarded $54,000 for pepper spray use 

The Socialist Bulletin Staff - 13/12/2025

JORDAN Brown has been awarded $54,000 by a court today after the court found that Victoria Police had misused pepper spray during a climate protest in 2019.

Brown led a group of protesters that have been subject to the same acts by police in the class action.

He was hit twice with pepper spray by VicPol, while he and others were protesting outside a mining and resources conference, and sustained injuries that he described as "the most excruciating [...] that [he had] ever experienced." 

The Police argued that their use of pepper spray was lawful.

Justice Claire Harris found that Brown was subject to unlawful battery by police, stating that “The batteries caused both physical injury to the plaintiff and were a material contributor to the plaintiff’s psychological injury.”

This ruling sets a potential precedent, as the pepper spray strategy that Police often use against the Left at protests and rallies has been stated to be "cruel and degrading" by Justice Harris.

Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) spokesperson Anthony Kelly told the press that, due to this legal victory, Police should immediately cease using pepper spray against protesters.