A police officer accused of choking an unmasked woman in a dramatic Melbourne arrest that went viral on social media has been cleared.
A 21-year-old woman from St Kilda became involved in an altercation on August 12 after officers spotted her not wearing a mask in Collingwood.
As seen in the video above, a male officer can be seen placing his hands around the woman’s neck during the arrest.
“He’s choking me. He’s choking me. Get off of me. Get off,” the woman yells.
![Video of the incident went viral on social media.](https://images.s.7news.com.au/publication/C-1304168/c20440f447925a65ceb918f89c667fe2c70c7e57.png?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
The woman then lashed out at a female officer, kicking her in the chest, before being taken to the ground.
“Tell me what the f*** I’ve done?” the woman asks.
As she was led away to a police van, a male filming the arrest said: “She’s got a note from the doctor. Youse are f***ed”.
![Victoria Police arrested the woman for not wearing a face-covering.](https://images.s.7news.com.au/publication/C-1304168/83ceae2bcaf5af2c1c5ae400c0c293c9a4c91f28.png?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
Victoria Police later confirmed she had an exemption for disobeying coronavirus health requirements to wear a mask, having earlier refused to provide her name and address.
She was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting police and bailed to face court at a later date.
The arrest was referred to Victoria Police’s professional standards command for oversight, and a spokeswoman confirmed that it had been debriefed internally.
“No further action will be taken,” a statement said on Monday.
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