An innocent man whose arm was badly broken by police during a botched raid is "shattered" that Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog cleared officers of using too much force during the arrest, his lawyer says.

Key points: The watchdog found police had "reasonable grounds" to enter the building and make the arrest

The watchdog found police had "reasonable grounds" to enter the building and make the arrest But it found police breached Nik Dimopoulos's human rights by failing to tell him why he was being arrested

But it found police breached Nik Dimopoulos's human rights by failing to tell him why he was being arrested Mr Dimopoulos's lawyer has said "Victorians should be really concerned" by IBAC's ruling

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) on Thursday concluded the force used by police to restrain Nik Dimopoulos during the raid at an apartment adjoining Fitzroy's Hares & Hyenas bookshop was "not disproportionate to the officers' objective of arresting Mr Dimopoulos".

Victoria Police confirmed shortly after the raid in May last year that Mr Dimopoulos had been mistakenly identified as the suspect in a home invasion and carjacking case.

Mr Dimopoulos suffered serious shoulder injuries and a broken arm during the arrest, which occurred when officers stormed the building at 2:00am as he and other occupants were sleeping.

In a statement released on Thursday, IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich QC said the commission had found officers had "reasonable grounds" to enter and search the building, given the information they had at the time.

Police raided the apartment adjoining LGBTIQ bookshop Hares & Hyenas about 2:00am on May 11 last year. ( ABC News: Damian McIver )

"IBAC found the force used by police in restraining Mr Dimopoulos was not disproportionate to the officers' objective of arresting Mr Dimopoulos, as the police involved reasonably believed such force was necessary to arrest a person who was struggling with police," Mr Redlich said.

"However, IBAC did find that Mr Dimopoulos's human rights were impacted as the officers involved in the incident did not, as the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities obliges them, advise him of the reason for his arrest, make him aware of his rights, or officially release him from custody," the commission said.

The commission has asked Victoria Police to investigate why the officers failed to uphold Mr Dimopoulos's human rights and "take appropriate action with respect to the officers".

IBAC requests police review into critical incident officers

IBAC stated it did not find evidence that the raid on the apartment, which is adjacent to the LGBTIQ bookstore Hares & Hyenas, was motivated by the race or sexuality of the parties involved.

Mr Redlich also flagged concern about "ongoing and potentially systemic issues" within the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), the specialist police unit involved, which have arisen out of IBAC's review of other incidents.

Separate to this investigation, Mr Redlich has asked Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton to look into a range of issues within CIRT including details of complaints made about CIRT officers and reporting about the use of force.

"IBAC has particular concerns about a range of ongoing and potentially systemic issues concerning CIRT. These issues include use of force, training and capability around key functions, and inadequacies in CIRT's policies and procedures," Commissioner Redlich said.

He asked Chief Commissioner Ashton to report back by June, when IBAC will decide whether further action is necessary.

Minister for Police Lisa Neville said Victoria Police were providing IBAC with all the requested information and had "rightly" apologised to Mr Dimopoulos.

"IBAC found the Victoria Police officers acted reasonably and I want to again thank our CIRT team and all police members for the work that they do every day in a challenging environment," Ms Neville said in a statement.

"Our thoughts are with Mr Dimopoulos and his friends and family who have lived through a very traumatic experience.

"Victoria Police has rightly apologised for the physical and emotional harm caused to him."

'Victorians should be really concerned', lawyer says

Mr Dimopoulos's lawyer Jeremy King said IBAC's decision was "legally contradictory, it's galling and it sets a dangerous precedent for policing in Victoria".

"For IBAC to come out here and say that this is a lawful arrest is, at law, deeply flawed," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

"On the one hand it's lawful but on the other hand they breached his Charter of Human Rights," he said.

Police had mistaken Mr Dimopoulos for a suspect in a carjacking when they made the arrest. ( Supplied )

"I would say it's not a lawful arrest and therefore any force used after that is not lawful either.

"That is really, really worrying and I think Victorians should be really concerned that IBAC thinks that's okay."

He said Mr Dimopoulos had found IBAC's ruling "unbelievable".

"He's not good, he's absolutely shattered by the decision, he's in disbelief," Mr King said.

"These people are innocent people who are sleeping in their beds at night and have their property raided."

Mr King said IBAC's report was "not the end", and those who lived in the building planned to object to IBAC's findings.

Bookshop owners Crusader Hillis and Rowland Thomson addressed the media after the police raid in May. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica, file photo )

Hares and Hyenas bookshop owner Rowland Thomson, who witnessed the arrest, said IBAC's findings were "a complete disappointment".

Mr Thomson said the findings failed to take into account one of his major complaints, which was that police did not identify themselves.

"[Mr Dimopoulos] ran because he thought it was a home invasion. If the police had of identified themselves he wouldn't have run," Mr Thomson said.

Mr Thomson also said the use of force was excessive and he had hoped the IBAC process would result in recommendations that changed the culture of the CIRT.

"They're not just the general police on the street, this is supposed to be a highly trained team," he said.

"Surely they can subdue someone, especially someone with no gun, without causing them to — for the next 11 months — be dealing with the injuries.

"I recognise the place of the police in society but at the same time there has to be controls and balances."

Victoria Police says officers' job 'a challenging and dynamic role'

In a statement, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner of Professional Standards Command Russell Barrett said there were "no winners in this situation":

"We have a man who was involved in a highly distressing situation and was injured during the arrest. We have already apologised for the emotional and physical impact this incident had on the man and will continue to offer him and his community our full support. "For someone to be injured during an interaction with police is not the outcome our members want or expect when they start their shift. That is why we apologised to the man so early on and we would do the same thing if we had our time over. "However, it was not appropriate for us to pass judgement on the actions of police before a full review had been completed. "Policing is a challenging and dynamic role. Our members are regularly called out to dangerous and high-pressure situations that require quick thinking and timely responses to keep the community safe. I am proud of all of our employees who serve and protect the community every day. "I also acknowledge IBAC's finding that there was no evidence to suggest our members' actions were racially or sexually motivated. Victoria Police has strong relationships with the LGBTIQ community and we would not jeopardise this under any circumstance. Our role as police is to serve and protect all Victorians and the LGBTIQ community is an important part of this. "In addition, I acknowledge IBAC's finding that our officers did not advise the man with the reason for his arrest. Whilst we need to more fully understand this finding, we are absolutely committed to respecting people's human rights, which is a core value of policing."

Police union says IBAC's criticisms 'minor in nature'

Victorian police union secretary Wayne Gatt said IBAC's findings presented "sober reading" for those who had judged the officers involved in the raid "prematurely".

"IBAC found our members' actions to be lawful and their use of force reasonable," he said.

"The only matter that IBAC has chosen to criticise relates to a technical breach of human rights, which is residual to the substantive issues that were referred to IBAC, and minor in nature.

"Our members responded to this incident because every bit of information at hand, in a dynamic situation, pointed to that premises containing a violent offender.

"They were trying to apprehend this offender to keep us all safe."

He said he hoped that in the wake of the report police would enjoy "more support and less judgement" as they carry out dangerous work protecting the public from high-risk offenders.