A female police officer was left in tears after she was allegedly punched in the face by an allegedly naked man who tried to hijack a bus full of passengers.
Police were called to a bus station on Franklin Street in Adelaide’s CBD about 5.45am on Saturday after reports that an intoxicated 28-year-old had boarded the bus and tried to drive away.
The man refused to get out of the driver’s seat when police arrived and became increasingly agitated.
When police tried to remove him from the bus, two officers were repeatedly struck in the head.
A third officer was left with a busted lip after allegedly being kicked in the head, while the 28-year-old is also accused of attacking a police dog and its handler.
Officers had tasered the man and released capscicum spray, but he continued to try to drive away the bus, with 26 passengers on board.
A female officer who was allegedly hit in the head by the man was seen at the scene crying and clutching her jaw which she thought was broken.
“I just don’t know if my jaw is broken,” she was heard saying to colleagues through tears in footage obtained by Nine News.
A female police officer was left in tears after she was allegedly punched in the face by an allegedly naked man who tried to hijack a bus full of passengers in Adelaide’s CBD
“He (allegedly) punched me twice very hard in the jaw.”
Meanwhile, one of her male colleagues, who was reportedly stabbed in the eye, was seen crouching down and covering his face after the violent incident.
The 28-year-old was eventually restrained by several officers and shouted “they’re trying to kill me” as he lay face down in his handcuffs.
The man has since been charged with four counts of assault on a prescribed emergency worker and one count of illegal use of a motor vehicle.
“Police used capsicum spray in an attempt to subdue the man, but this was unsuccessful and he continued to attempt to drive the bus,” an SA Police spokesperson said.
‘Capsicum spray was used on the man a second time and he was successfully removed from the bus and arrested.’
The reportedly naked man was eventually restrained by several police officers after being tasered and pepper sprayed
The man was taken to hospital for medical treatment.
No passengers on the bus were injured.
Pastor Peggy Renata said she feared there would have been fatalities had the police not been there.
‘We had a bus full of elderly people about to leave Adelaide and a [allegedly] mentally ill man on the bus who appeared to be completely naked,” she said.
“A very violent brawl broke out on the bus… the police officers who entered the bus were (allegedly) violently attacked.”
Steven Egel, 67, said passengers thought the man was going to put the bus in gear and drive away from the terminal.
“(It was) pretty bad. I jumped up and tried to help. “I grabbed him and grabbed his arm to get him back and stop him,” he said.