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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Ariel Bogle and Nino Bucci

‘Like being stabbed in the eye’: the risk of serious injury by police at protests is escalating, experts warn

Alex Zucco on the steps of parliament
Melbourne photojournalist Alex Zucco on the steps of Parliament House. Zucco was sprayed with capsicum spray by Victoria police while covering the Land Forces protest in October 2024. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

Alex Zucco was cleaning her camera lens when a police officer hit her directly in the face with a stream of capsicum spray.

“It feels like you’re being stabbed in the eye,” the photojournalist says. As the protest she was covering roiled around her, Zucco could hear the sounds of flash-bang devices going off and screams from the crowd but she could not see for almost an hour.

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