'He's choking me!': Boyfriend of woman grabbed by Victoria Police speaks out

She screams "you're choking me!" and kicks at officers. Photo / Supplied

A Victoria Police officer has been filmed grabbing a young woman by the throat and forcing her to the ground she struggles and screams, "He's choking me!"

The incident on Monday, which is now under internal investigation, began after the 21-year-old refused to produce her identification when police approached her for not wearing a mask.

According to her boyfriend, she admits that when the officer first asked her why she didn't have a mask, she gave him the finger.

But he said the reaction was excessive and painful.

"The way that they came up to us all intimidating is itself enough," he told 7 News.

"They're meant to make us feel protected, right? We don't feel protected. When they're just looking for a fight and just looking to fine people and just looking to be bullies, that's not lawful."

He boyfriend said he understood that "everyone's got to wear their mask", but "some people have exemptions".

The woman was not wearing a face mask. Photo / Supplied

Distressing footage of the arrest went viral after being uploaded to social media on Tuesday.

It begins mid-confrontation, as the grey-haired male officer pulls the woman along the street with one hand around her neck.

"He's choking me!" she yells. "He's choking me! What the f**k! Get off of me! Get off!"

A female officer tells the woman, "Let go of his vest. Let go of his vest."

The woman continues to yell as the officer pushes her up against the wall.

"He's f**king choking me!" she yells. "He's choking me. What the f**k! Get the f**k off me!"

The female officer puts a hand on the woman's arm and says again, "Let go of his vest! Stop!"

The woman kicks at the female officer and yells, "F**k you!"

She continues to struggle with the male officer. "Stop resisting," he says.

The female officer says, "You just kicked me in the –"

"Get the f**k off me!" the woman yells. "What are you doing? You're f**king choking me. You're f**king choking me, dude, what the f**k!"

The male officer then pulls her to the ground.

"You're f**ked in the head!" she yells.

The officer rolls her over onto her stomach and sits on her back as she continues to protest.

"You're f**ked! What the f**k are you doing to me?" she says.

The female officer tells her to put her hands behind her back.

"What have I done?" the woman asks. "What have I done wrong?"

The female officer says, "You just kicked me in the stomach!"

At this point her boyfriend, who is filming, chimes in.

"Yeah but you're choking her," he says. "There's a man on a girl and you choked her."

He yells, "For what? For a mask? For not having a mask? Look how pathetic you are! Are you serious? Just for not having a mask?"

The full video continues for eight minutes until she is taken away in a police van.

She screams "you're choking me!" and kicks at officers. Photo / Supplied

Another video of the incident filmed from a nearby balcony was also uploaded to YouTube.

It shows her boyfriend continuing to berate the officer as he sits on the woman.

"You grabbed her! You didn't ask her any questions, you d**khead, you just grabbed her!" he says.

The woman on the ground yells, "Let me stand up, I'm a f**king human being!"

As more officers arrive, the person filming from the balcony jokingly calls them the "backup crew".

"All because she wasn't wearing a mask!" the woman filming laughs in disbelief.

In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed the arrest had been referred for internal review.

A spokeswoman said the St Kilda woman was arrested in Collingwood on Monday afternoon for refusing to provide identification, in breach of the chief health officer's directions.

Officers were patrolling on Wellington Street when they observed the woman not wearing a face mask at about 5pm.

"Police made the decision to arrest the woman after she failed to provide her name and address," the spokeswoman said.

"She also did not state she had an exemption for not wearing a face covering. She then became physically aggressive and kicked a female officer to the upper body. The woman continued to resist arrest and had to be taken to ground before being arrested."

The female officer was transported to hospital for observation.

The woman was taken to a police station to confirm her identity.

She was charged with resisting police and assaulting police and was bailed to appear at court at a later date.

"She did not receive a fine for failing to wear a face covering because she later told police she had an exemption," the spokeswoman said.

"The arrest has been referred to Professional Standards Command for oversight."

Face masks have been mandatory in Melbourne since Thursday, July 23, and in regional Victoria since the start of this month.

Police can issue on-the-spot fines of $200 to those not wearing a face covering without a legitimate reason.

Earlier this week, a Melbourne mum was filmed being pinned to the ground by officers for allegedly breaking lockdown rules.