Dramatic moment a cafe owner is arrested in his own store
Police are blocked from entering bar amid Queensland protests over tyrannical Covid restrictions
- The owner of The Vintage Apron cafe in Capalaba, Brisbane was arrested
- He was handcuffed behind the counter of his store by three officers
- Also on the weekend, police were blocked from entering Toowoomba bar
- Videos of the incidents were posted to many different social media accounts
- Queensland Police say there were 'multiple breaches of Covid-19 directions'
A Brisbane cafe owner has been dramatically arrested by three officers behind the counter of his own store, and police have clashed with diners trying to block their entry to a Toowoomba restaurant in two weekend incidents captured on video.
Pierre Coorey, the owner of The Vintage Apron cafe in Capalaba Shopping Centre in Brisbane was physically detained and handcuffed behind the counter of his shop on Sunday and charged with offences arising from allegedly not asking customers to show their vaccination status.
The video showed the 53-year-old being manhandled and arguing with police as customers who were filming the incident asked police what he had done wrong.
In another incident at Bar Wunder in central Toowoomba on Saturday, a group of activists blocked police from entering the premises and shouted at attending officers.
One protester told an officer he looked 'like a f***ing smurf', and the policeman calmly replied: 'That's nice'.
Customers inside the bar and restaurant chanted 'get out' and 'trespassers leave' as others prevented police officers from entering the premises.
Both incidents were filmed by many people and posted online by groups opposing vaccine mandates.
One poster says it involved 'police officers trying to enforce tyrannical Covid rules'.
On January 2 Bar Wunder owners were issued with a direction to close the entire premises, with the direction in place until January 31.
'This followed multiple breaches of the Chief Health Officer’s directions,' a Queensland Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
In the video an officer identifies himself by his name and tries to get into the bar, but is stopped by a group of unmasked people shouting at him.
One man keeps repeating the phrase 'Trespassing, leave' at the officers. Then, from inside the bar, a chant of 'Get out' starts.
When an officer tries again to get into the bar and seeks to move a man aside, a male voice can be heard saying 'Don't push him. Don't assault him.'
The man then adds 'With honour you serve. Prove it. With honour you serve. Act in honour.'
Another voice asks a policeman 'Don't you feel embarrassed doing this mate?' and then reels off a list on conspiracy theory misinformation and swears at the officer.
'You're getting bacterial pneumonia wearing those masks. Hypoxia, which is lack of oxygen,' the man says.
After the smurf comment, and the officer's retort of 'that's nice', the protesting man then says 'Nice doesn't cut it. I don't think you're very nice standing here hassling a business owner trying to support his family.
'So we'll agree to disagree on what you think is nice ... Where's the love, where's the compassion, where's the honour?'
He then starts singing 'Disgraceful. Dishonourable.'
Queensland Police said there had been 'multiple breaches of the Chief Health Officer’s directions' by the bar.
'On January 15 at 2.10pm the licensed premises was allegedly opened with approximately 50-60 patrons inside consuming alcohol for a number of hours.
'Police attended the address twice and were blocked by a large crowd who prevented entry to the premises,' the Police spokesman said.
That night the police went to a Toowoomba residence and arrested owners Mark Davis, 56, and Fiona Davis, 50.
Mr Davis was charged with one count of failing to comply with a Covid-19 direction and he will face Toowoomba Magistrates Court on January 25.
Ms Davis was charged with two counts of the same offence and will appear on March 16.
'The overwhelming majority of the Toowoomba community has been very compliant with public health directions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and we urge members of the public to continue to work with us in the interests of keeping our community safe,' the police said.
In the southern Brisbane suburb of Capalaba on Sunday, The Vintage Apron owner was handcuffed and led away by police.
In a video posted to social media, the man resisted the police officer's attempts to arrest him and two more officers step in to help.
The man is handcuffed and dragged away as he complains that his arm is being hurt and says 'Don't hurt me.'
Many customers are seen filming the scene on their mobile phones, while a woman's voice says 'This is not right.'
Mr Coorey was arrested following several police warnings for his business to comply with the Chief Health Officer’s public health direction, police said.
'Police have received more than 20 complaints from members of the public about the cafe breaching public health requirements and have previously attended the business in relation to compliance issues,' a spokesman said.
The man was charged with contravening a police direction, failing to comply with the Covid-19 public health directions and obstructing police.
He was taken to Cleveland Watchhouse before being released on bail to appear in the Cleveland Magistrates Court on March 15.
There was a small protest at the Capalaba Police station on Sunday afternoon. No arrests occurred at this event.
CONTINUED:
Coffee with a Cop a great success at Capalaba
On Tuesday, August 20, police, Volunteers in Policing (ViPs) and Crimstoppers have teamed up to present a Coffee with a Cop event at Vintage Apron Cafe, Capalaba Central Shopping Centre.
Our specialised Water Police Unit also attended with Water Police Vessel onsite to educate the public about safety in the water.
The theme of the Coffee with a Cop was to educate public about road safety, personal safety, home and vehicle security.
Officers were also present to answer any potential policing questions from the public.
Police would like to thank everyone who attended the event.
We really enjoyed the chat and the coffee. We hope you did too.
If you missed your chance to have coffee with our officers this morning, next week from Monday, August 26 to Friday August 30, police from your local station are going to host several community events across the Bayside area including Coffee with a Cop.
Check out this post for further details:
Bring your friends and family, we look forward to seeing you there.
A special thanks to our coffee sponsors, Mr Eric Angles from Writers Reserve and staff from Vintage Apron Cafe.
By Bayside Crime Prevention Unit
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