The Guardian reports
Sanchia Romani awarded damages after officers ignored her ‘no trespassing’ signs in August 2021
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.
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