The New South Wales government has been ordered to pay out more than $18,000 after two police officers climbed a locked gate and trespassed on a northern rivers property owned by a woman they suspected was organising a protest in breach of Covid laws.
The NSW supreme court justice Robertson Wright found that the senior constables had violated the privacy of property owner Sanchia Romani and her family in 2021, and their “high-handed” dealings had caused the residents anxiety and distress.
He also found that the officers had not been adequately trained about laws regarding trespass and the limits on the rights of police to enter locked properties displaying “no trespassing” signs after the incident.
Wright awarded Romani $18,334.69 in damages over the trespass, which was found to have occurred over the space of three to five minutes.
On Thursday Josh Pallas, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said the choice by officers to enter the property despite the signage “either demonstrates poor judgment” or “systemic failure on the part of NSW police” to teach officers about the law.
“It strikes me that the police need to do a much better job of ensuring common law property rights are respected,” he said.
Pallas said this brand of “pre-emptive policing” as he called it, was something his organisation was hearing more frequently from residents.
“We think the right to protest is important, simply because people will attend protests or want to attend protests or may, from time to time attend protests, doesn’t mean the police should be visiting them on multiple occasions before the protest,” Pallas said.
NSW police said they were reviewing the judgment.
In his judgment, Wright said the officers were sent to the property at Warrazambil Creek, near Kyogle, on 24 August, after receiving information that Romani might have been trying to have pamphlets printed regarding a public gathering or protest later that month.
Police claimed they were worried the protest would be in breach of public health orders in place at the time, and previously tried to call Romani to find out what she was planning before going to the property.
The officers were greeted by a locked fence and gate and multiple “no trespassing” signs that stated police were not to enter the property.
They climbed over the locked gate and walked along the driveway, where they were met on the driveway by Romani’s adult daughter, Maia Huxtable, while her younger son waited inside.
“Notwithstanding the locked gate, the sign on the gate and the no trespassing sign near the gate, the two police officers jumped over the gate, without touching the padlock, and walked up the driveway towards the house,” Wright said in his judgment.
“The police officers did not have any warrant that would have entitled them to enter the property.”
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Huxtable asked the police officers to leave the property because she did not “feel comfortable”. She gave evidence that she felt intimidated by their presence and questioning.
One of the officers said to Huxtable that they would “keep coming back until we speak to” her mother. Despite the comment, they never returned.
“As a result of that last comment, Maia felt very uneasy, uncomfortable and distressed because she perceived it to be intimidating,” the judgment read.
Romani claimed the officers had caused her children “great anxiety, distress, worry and trauma”, and she felt their privacy had been “grossly invaded” and “their liberties to abide peacefully within [their] own property and home was grossly infringed”.
The officers told the court they believed they were allowed to enter the property because the event they were there to ask about could contravene the Covid-19 public health order.
The judge found Romani was entitled to general damages of $7,500, aggravated damages of $5,000 and, “to mark the court’s disapprobation of the officers’ conduct”, exemplary damages of $5,000.
She was awarded $17,500, to which interest was added.
Pallas said he was particularly worried at the officer’s comment that they would keep returning to the property until they found Romani.
“That’s quite concerning,” he said. “It’s a salutary reminder to [people] that they can expressly exclude police entering on to their property.”
