Arabic version: شرطة فيكتوريا تسوّي دعوى إصابة دماغية

According to ABC News, Gippsland man Brodie Holt has reached a confidential settlement with Victoria Police over a 2022 arrest outside a Traralgon pub that left him with permanent brain damage. The Supreme Court settlement was reached last month and is believed to be worth millions. Court documents listed special damages, including medical treatment, lost earnings and ongoing care, at $13.7 million.

Mr Holt, now 27, was arrested by three officers in the early hours of Mother’s Day 2022 after drinking with friends at the Hotel Traralgon. He was taken to Latrobe Regional Hospital and later flown to Melbourne, where he was placed in an induced coma at The Alfred. He has no memory of the incident and recalled waking in hospital after being roused from the coma. His family was told he had post-traumatic amnesia.

The circumstances of the arrest remain contested in court documents. Mr Holt’s lawyers said he had broken no laws and alleged he was shoved into a brick doorway, threatened, grabbed by the throat, thrown against a wall and tackled, causing his head to strike concrete. Victoria Police said it arrested him because he was drunk and potentially a danger to himself and others. The force said he spat at police, resisted after being handcuffed and had to be restrained; it said the officer who tackled him lost his footing and balance, and that the head strike was not intended.

A Victoria Police spokesman said allegations against an officer were found to be unsubstantiated and that the civil claim was resolved on independent legal advice. Mr Holt’s lawyer, Jeremy King of Robinson Gill, described the incident as “entirely avoidable” and said Mr Holt requires care, cannot work and relies heavily on his parents and family. His mother, Kellie Holt, gave up her supermarket job to care for him. His parents said his injuries have also affected his relationship with his five-year-old daughter.