The New South Wales police watchdog, the LECC, opened a public sitting on the 9 February protest at Sydney Town Hall against Israeli president Isaac Herzog's visit. Counsel assisting, Kirsten Edwards, said that on the evidence so far protesters were "largely peaceful" and there is "limited evidence of physical violence on the part of the protesters." That is not a final finding. The evidence, she added, is far from concluded.

The LECC opened the inquiry after widespread brutality allegations. Viral video showed officers punching protesters and pulling Muslim worshippers during sunset prayer. Edwards listed themes: OC spray, including near faces and towards people with limited mobility; pushing during dispersal; moving in formation towards people who were fleeing; force in arrests; "boasting" about gratuitous force; and holding the crowd in a space they could not leave, sometimes called kettling. Those are matters under examination, not facts found by a court.

Police charged 30 people in the months after the protest, including hinder arrest and assault police. Almost a dozen have had charges withdrawn. On Friday at the Downing Centre, police dropped seven more, after four in recent months. A joint hearing set for July 2027, once meant for 25 files, is now down to 17. Withdrawal is not an acquittal for those still charged.

Edwards said the LECC would judge police against the law then in force, the Public Assembly Restriction Declaration, which limited marching. The state's highest court found it unconstitutional two months after the protest. At a pre-event briefing, including Commissioner Mal Lanyon, officers were told the protest was to stay static. There is no recording or notes of that briefing.

Lanyon made a last-minute bid to hold all hearings in private. The opening stayed public; five weeks of private examinations follow. David Sulan, for the commissioner, spoke of "an unprecedented level of serious verbal abuse" towards police and of positive policing. Edwards also noted officers who showed care for the elderly.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Sydney Cricket Ground briefing on the day was held without slides, and witnesses' memories diverge except on the no-march order. The commission has hundreds of complaints and more than 1,000 hours of footage. This is not a criminal trial of officers. Edwards said it is not blame for its own sake.

Until a report, two tracks remain: an opening that describes a largely verbal clash with police, and 17 people still facing court. Neither Edwards's words nor Lanyon's defence stand in for a verdict.

Image: JustARandomEditor123, Sydney Town Hall, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; the building, not the 9 February 2026 protest.

Sources consulted: Limited evidence of protester violence at Sydney rally against Herzog visit, police watchdog hears - The Guardian; Commissioner SCG briefing, police miscommunications in spotlight at Town Hall protest inquiry - Sydney Morning Herald.