Community legal service says staff weren’t present at record label launch

A community legal service involved in a planning meeting with Victoria Police ahead of last Saturday’s ill-fated record label launch in Collingwood say they did not expect or condone the violence that ensued.

Seven people were injured in the brawl involving dozens of youth leaving the Gasometer Hotel at around 2.45am.

Claudia Fatone, the Executive Officer of the Fitzroy Legal Service, told Neil Mitchell none of her staff attended the event in any official capacity.

The legal service was involved in a planning meeting in the lead-up to the event.

But she said she believed representatives from a network known as the Melbourne Activist Legal Support were present on the night.

“My understanding is there were was no one there from Flemington Kensington Legal Centre either, but there were legal observers independent of both services,” she said.

She said there were no “definitive concerns” in the meeting that it could have turned violent.

“Let me be clear, we would never condone the violence and activities that occurred,” she said.

Related: Acting Deputy Commissioner rejects reports of a ‘no arrest’ policy after Collingwood brawl

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Photo: Brianna Travers