A lively and vocal rally of 150 people turned out in Logan, Brisbane, on Saturday to support Sheila Oakley, the local Murri woman who was tasered in the eye by Queensland Police on 6 February. The crowd gathered outside Sheila’s house to hear speeches from Sheila’s family, from community leaders and from Sheila herself.

Speakers demanded that police violence stop and the cops be held responsible for the assault. Joseph, Sheila’s brother, said that “this violence has just got to stop, that’s why we’re here today . . . it’s been going on too long”. Community leader Fred Coolwell told the crowd that the police are never punished. “They are above the law. The police are getting away with it and have been getting away with it for years. There’s no justice here in Queensland, no justice at all . . . There’s so much racism in this country; it comes from the top down”.

Pastor Lester, a local community pastor, spoke of how police harassment is an everyday occurrence. “This is the third time this [taser] incident has occurred in Logan City. But today is a new day for us, we’re going to stand up for our rights. What’s happening now has got to stop”. Wayne Saunders argued that “we have got to stop this mentality of thinking we can go to them [the police] for justice”.

As longtime Indigenous activist Sam Watson said, “It’s not going to be an easy struggle, it’s not going to be a short struggle, [but] it’s going to carry on.” Sheila, who will have more surgery on Monday, thanked people for their support.

Chanting “What do we want? Justice for Sheila Oakley!” and “Queensland is a police state!” we marched with banners of support and Indigenous flags to Logan police station. A massive police presence, kitted out with multiple tasers, was waiting. Sheila handed over pages of petitions to the acting superintendent, Noel Powers, demanding that the cop be publicly identified, be suspended from duty, be charged and be investigated by an independent inquiry. Typical of police arrogance, Powers refused to answer any questions.

The mood of the rally can be summed up in the words of Marlene Wharton, who said, “I am here today to support my friend, my sister, my people against the brutality of the police and what they did to Sheila. This has got to stop. My grandparents fought for the rights of our people back in the day, then my father fought, then my uncles, and now I’m the next generation and I’m not going to stop the struggle and I don’t want anyone else to stop either”.