A beautician who went viral in a video showing her being dragged from her car by police at a Covid checkpoint in Melbourne was embroiled in another roadside feud with officers, a court has heard.
Natalie Bonett, 29, in October 2020 shared footage of her being physically dragged from her vehicle by an officer who spotted her mobile phone charger mounted on her windshield when she was passing through the Kalkallo checkpoint, north of Melbourne.
Four officer pulled her from the car by her legs and handcuffed her while holding her down with a knee pressed into her back.
Bonett later also posted photos online showing bruises she said she sustained during the confrontation.
It has now been revealed that for the second time in as many months, Bonett found herself in another heated clash with police, the Herald Sun reported.
On November 9, 2020, Bonett had another confrontation with two officers while they tried to detain her during a roadside intercept, the County Court heard.
In the midst of the melee, the court heard she threw a tyre deflation device onto the freeway, endangering other motorists.
Bonett on Monday pleaded guilty to conduct endangering persons and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker on duty.
Officers had recognised her mental health troubles and were detaining her so she could receive medical help, the court heard.
The court heard expert evidence that during the November incident, Bonett was in the throws of a panic attack and likely had little conscious control over her reflexes.
Her mental illness and post traumatic stress diagnosis reduced her moral culpability, her lawyer Luke Howson told the court.
Judge Duncan Allen offered Bonett the opportunity to avoid a conviction by suspending her sentence for five months.
She was required to remain on bail for that whole period while undergoing the court’s mental health program.
On successful completion, Judge Allen said she may be released on a good behaviour bond.
She will return to be sentenced in July.
‘Get your hands off me’
The footage from the October 2020 incident showed Ms Bonett sitting in the driver’s seat of her car and asking a police officer – who can be heard requesting her name and address – “Can you please get your hands off me?”
He answers, “No,” and when he asks, “Can you get out of the car please,” she says, “No.”
When she explains about her car phone charger that “They sell them everywhere,” the officer says, “That’s not the problem anymore; the problem is you’ve not stated your name to me.”
Police: “Can you get out of the car please?”
Ms Bonett: “No, I don’t feel safe. You’re armed.”
Police: “You’re safe, don’t you worry about that.”
Ms Bonett: “You’re attempting to get into my vehicle. What are you, what are you doing? What the f**k are you doing? What the f**k are you doing? Get off me.”
As she is dragged screaming from the car, the officer can he heard shouting, “Relax, just relax.”
Ms Bonett later shared video of the incident on social media, claiming she went through the checkpoint at Wallan, 45km north of Melbourne “every single day”.
Armed with her licence and permit, she said she was stopped before entering the checkpoint.
“The police officer told me that it was against the law to have my phone on a car charger mount(ed) on my windshield,” she wrote in a public Facebook post.
“I was in disbelief. He then attempted to get into my vehicle at which (point) I started recording.
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“They called for backup and had four police officers grab me by the legs and pull me out of my car and arrest me.
“While trying to cuff me they had their knees in my back and I couldn’t breathe.
“My blood is boiling.”
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