Cop tackles 'allowed, but should be safe'

Victorian police are allowed to sling tackle people, but they should do so safely, a court has been told. 

Acting Sergeant Beau Barrett has been charged after he allegedly sling tackled a man at Melbourne's Flinders Street Station on September 22 last year during anti-lockdown protests. 

The man was knocked unconscious during the arrest. 

Acting Inspector Matthew Hargreaves gave evidence in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday that "takedowns" or sling tackles are authorised tactical moves.

However, police should avoid having detainees hit the ground head-first, he suggested. They should also communicate with one another and use the technique safely. 

It was up to officers to decide how much force they used when taking someone to the ground and physical attributes came into that equation, Insp Hargreaves said. 

If someone was wearing multiple layers of clothing, they could look bigger than they were, leading police to potentially overestimate how much force they needed to use, he conceded.

When dealing with a person who was verbally rather than physically aggressive, officers should consider "communication and strategy" along with tactical resources like pepper spray, he said. 

Police should first try to get people to comply voluntarily, then resort to their non-lethal options, Insp Hargreaves said. 

The force didn't want police to get physical as a first resort and tactical options were there because, "not everybody is a six-foot-two footy player from Echuca", he said. 

The defence grilled Insp Hargreaves about why he didn't speak to protective services officers who were involved in the Flinders Street Station incident prior to giving evidence. 

Witnesses earlier told the court the alleged victim was behaving erratically, "barking" like a dog, making "exorcist-type" noises and repeatedly approached the officers in the lead-up to the takedown.

He was allegedly being aggressive, abusive and threatening towards officers and either feigned spitting or attempted to spit on them, leading an acting senior sergeant to hold his face against a wall.

The alleged victim also called police officers and protective services officers "snitches" and "Nazis", the defence suggested. 

Insp Hargreaves was only asked to give expert evidence about the takedown, he said, but he conceded having more information about the incident could have benefited him. 

The hearing will resume in February.