By MELISSA MEEHAN
ONLOOKERS were shocked as Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay’s speech was cut short on Thursday as a flash mob broke out as he began his speech about violence against women.
Mr Lay was speaking to a busy food court at the Eastland Shopping Centre in Ringwood when the music blared and dancers came out from the crowd.
Dancers included school kids, mums, dads and even police officers wearing shirts emblazoned with “No Bystanders” in neon green.
When the dance was over, Mr Lay returned to the microphone and said “now that I have your attention”.
He spoke of the importance that no one stays silent if they were aware of domestic violence and then read a pledge and encouraged shoppers and other onlookers to get involved too.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Jim Child also took the pledge and said it was a very important thing to do.
“When the Chief Commissioner comes out and says we need to stop this terrible thing we have in the community, the violence against women – it’s important to get involved,” he said.
“It’s fantastic to be part of this pledge today.”
Knox Superintendent Graeme Arthur, who was also part of the day, said that the flash mob was a way of highlighting the issue and getting a number of people, from different backgrounds and ages involved.
“It’s not just a couple issue, we normally think of it as two people involved, but there are the ones who see it – the children and this gets them involved in the pledge too,” he said.
