Pepper-sprayed activist posed no threat to Victoria police officer who later said ‘they needed that’, court hears

Victoria police’s use of pepper spray on climate activists outside a 2019 International Mining and Resources Conference in Melbourne is at the centre of a class action law suit. Photograph: James Ross/EPA

A climate protester was unarmed and posed no threat when he was hit with “excruciatingly painful” pepper spray by a Victorian police officer who later remarked “they needed that”, a court has heard.

But a lawyer representing the state – in the first class action against Victoria police in relation to alleged excessive use of oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray – said the protester was part of a group that “piled” into an area and blocked their attempts to make arrests.