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Police have arrested a woman who attached herself to a vehicle as part of a protest against the Land Forces expo in Melbourne's CBD.
The female protester appeared to have set her hand in concrete in the back of a car which blocked traffic in King Street, north of the intersection with Flinders Street.
Police used an angle grinder to free the woman, who was then detained by officers.
Police arrested a woman after freeing her from concrete inside a vehicle which was blocking traffic. (ABC News: Stephanie Ferrier)
Earlier, a person was seen smashing the windscreens of a number of vehicles in the area, although it was not clear whether this was part of the protest.
Ajau Kumar, whose truck was damaged by the person, said it was a senseless act.
"It's a waste of time. Damaging property doesn't help anyone," he told ABC News Breakfast.
Police used an angle grinder to remove a woman who had set her hand in concrete inside a vehicle. (ABC News)
There is a significant police presence outside the defence and arms event as protests stretch into a third day, albeit on a much smaller scale than the first day of demonstrations on Wednesday.
Police were generally pleased with the behaviour of protesters on Thursday after violent clashes broke out on the first day of the expo.
Five people were arrested in the vicinity of the expo on Thursday and police seized weapons, bottles of paint, marbles and bags of small rocks.
There were no injuries to police or protesters on Thursday.
Police were out before sunrise in Melbourne's CBD ahead of the final day of the Land Forces expo. (ABC News)
On Friday morning, Premier Jacinta Allan again defended the event and the actions of police in responding to protesters, some of whom she said were out of line.
"They came with the intent — some — to cause violence and that is utterly unacceptable," she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"This is about using a conflict overseas for some pretty base political purposes here. Let's be clear, that is really what the intent is.
Ms Allan rejected opposition calls for a permit system for protests, similar to those that exist in some other Australian cities.
"Do we really think people who turn up to protest, particularly in the manner we've seen this week, are going to tell police and apply for a permit?"
Ms Allan would not go into details about how much the state government contributed to entice the Land Forces expo to Melbourne, but said such events were valuable to the economy.
"Melbourne hosts conferences week in, week out. They're good for our economy, they support jobs across hospitality, retail, tourism and they also continue to promote Melbourne and Victoria to the world," she said.
The protests have caused traffic delays and resulted in some tram services being suspended. (ABC News: Stephanie Ferrier)
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the Land Forces expo, which has attracted delegates from 45 countries, was the kind of event the city should be bidding for.
"Overall, I'd say it's been a successful conference," he told Radio National.
"I mean, conferences are really important to the city of Melbourne economy, generating close to $300 million in business for the city and our visitor economy."
City of Port Phillip councillor Marcus Pearl disagreed, saying the protest prompted by the event had affected small businesses in Port Melbourne and South Melbourne.
"There would normally on a Friday be thousands of tourists heading to the iconic South Melbourne Market to interact with our wonderful traders and they won't be there today because all the roads are blocked off," he said.
"It has an enormous economic impact. Everyone has the right to protest, no doubt, but not at the cost of hard working local businesses who are taking hit after hit."