NSW Police Fined Two Siblings With Intellectual Disabilities For Not Understanding COVID Orders
“Their cognitive impairment means they cannot always understand information when it is delivered to them, especially because the rules keep changing".
Two siblings in regional NSW with intellectual disabilities have been slapped with fines for not understanding public health orders — adding to concern over police discretion during lockdown.
Kevin Lamont, 32, and his sister Karise Livingstone, 22, were stopped by officers en route to the shops in Wagga Wagga. The pair weren’t aware they couldn’t shop together, the Daily Advertiser reported.
“When speaking to my siblings, it is not difficult to gauge that they have intellectual disabilities,” their brother Nathan told the paper. “Their cognitive impairment means they cannot always understand information when it is delivered to them, especially because the rules keep changing.”
According to a police spokesperson, Lamont and Livingstone did not present a lawful excuse for being out of the house and were both fined $1000 each.
“People need to place themselves in the shoes of those with disabilities even for a second to attempt at understanding and comprehending the challenges they face on a daily basis,” said Nathan.
Police powers were strengthened in August as the state’s lockdown response expanded from Greater Sydney into wider NSW. In an internal message to his workforce, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told officers they wouldn’t be held to account for any COVID fines incorrectly handed out to the public, as part of their ‘high level enforcement’ approach.
“We need to stretch ourselves across the state, but we’ll only get compliance if you start writing tickets, if you start [handing out future court attendance notices for] people for breaching the health orders,” he said.
These arbitrary police decisions have left many worried that there isn’t enough compassion in ensuring compliance, especially with vulnerable communities. Police Accountability Solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre Samantha Lee said in a radio interview that this approach can isolate individuals who can’t keep up with stay-at-home order amendments.
“The laws have changed over 60 times, people are confused, and people aren’t out there generally flouting the laws. There are many people that just plainly know what is going on, that are wanting to do the right thing,” she said.
Photo Credit: Jamie Kennedy
