A police officer was allegedly assaulted during a Covid-19 compliance check in Sydney’s west. Six men have been charged over allegedly breaching Covid health orders, including five charged with resisting arrest and assaulting police officers. The arrests came when police were called to reports of a party at a home on Unicombe Crescent, Oakhurst, at about 4.10 pm on Saturday.
When officers arrived, they found a group of men drinking inside a garage, NSW Police said. Police said they asked the men to produce identification, but they allegedly refused. “After informing the men of the possible Covid breach, the occupant – a managed 44 – allegedly pushed an officer in the chest,” police said.
The other four men in the garage then allegedly became violent and attempted to hinder police, with police required to deploy pepper spray to subdue the men. Police said the officers sustained minor injuries, and all five men were arrested and taken to Mt Druitt police station.
The 44-year-old was charged with two counts of intimidating police officers, assaulting police officers, resisting police officers, and not complying with Noticed Direction Covid-19. An Mt Druitt man, 32, was charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting/hindering an officer, and not complying with Noticed Direction Covid-19.
Four men were granted conditional bail to appear in court later this month, while the 33-year-old was refused bail and will face court on Sunday. In a separate incident, less than 20km away, another man in the Hawkesbury region was charged with possessing an unauthorized weapon while breaching Covid health orders.
Officers confronted two men in Londonderry after they caught them riding quad bikes. Police then discovered that both men lived in Blacktown – about 28km away – meaning they were allegedly in breach of Sydney’s current Covid health orders. Police then searched a Toyota HiLux and reportedly found a black Glock-17 gel blaster air pistol inside a bag.
One of the men, 25, was arrested and taken to Windsor police station. He was charged with possessing an unauthorised pistol, an unregistered firearm pistol, and not complying with the noticed direction regarding Covid-19. The second man, a 22-year-old from South Granville, was issued a $1000 fine.
The 25-year-old was denied bail and will appear in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday. Sydneysiders residing in the Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, and Parramatta LGAs must wear a mask whenever they leave the house and are not permitted to travel more than 5km from their home.
