Constable hero after taxi hijack
Published: January 14, 2005
A young constable leapt into a hijacked taxi moments before it crashed and disarmed a man who had stolen a police gun and led officers on a foot chase through a crowded Melbourne mall.
Lunchtime shoppers scattered as the constable leapt into the taxi and disarmed the man before the vehicle sped off, flipped and crashed on its roof.
The offender fired a shot during the struggle, with one witness describing how he heard the bullet pass through the taxis door and whizz towards Collins Place in central Melbourne.
Both the offender and the constable ended up in the wreckage of the taxi.
Other officers were at the scene quickly and arrested the gunman.
The drama began when detectives tried to arrest a man, 26, at Collingwood about 11.30am over a series of burglaries.
During a struggle, the man stole a police revolver from one of the officers and fired a single shot.
He then hijacked a Commodore sedan at gunpoint, forcing the driver to take him into the city.
Pursuing police intercepted the car in Flinders Lane and the gunman fled.
The driver was handcuffed by police but was later cleared of criminal involvement in the incident.
Shoppers in the Collins Place plaza scattered as the armed man armed ran bleeding though the ground floor level.
Witness Mr Pradeep Goyal, the manager of Toasted Eatery, said he was sitting outside his shop when he saw the man run by with police in pursuit.
“Some people hit the floor, I pushed a lady on the floor,” he said.
The man ducked briefly into a boutique, then ran out onto Collins St where he jumped into a Silver Top Taxi.
The taxi driver fled and the offender moved into the drivers seat.
Supt Mick Williams said a pursuing officer entered the taxi from the rear door and disarmed the offender.
“Whilst this was occurring a further shot was discharged from the firearm,” he said.
“The vehicle then continued moving forward and … hit a tram safety zone and then catapulted through the air and landed on the roof.”
Supt Williams praised the young policeman as “absolutely courageous”.
The constable suffered cuts and bruises but was not seriously injured.
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