Woman attacked with axe before Ford Mustang stolen, police allege
Police pursued the man by vehicle, by Pol Air, and used road spikes, but the chase only came to a stop an hour later when he collided with a Ford utility and members of the public detained him.
Detailing the event, NSW Police said officers had been called to a home east of Nowra shortly before 1pm on Saturday, after reports of a man armed with an axe and a hammer.
When members of the South Coast Police District arrived at the home on Rayleigh Drive, Worrigee, they allege that the man threw the axe at a police vehicle.
The man retrieved the axe then ran to a home in nearby Illawarra Circuit – where he allegedly assaulted a 66-year-old woman while she was sitting in her Ford Mustang, which police said was a 2017 'one of a kind' model.
Police allege the man hit the woman multiple times with the axe before forcing her out of the car. The woman was then run over by her own car as the man drove it away.
Police pursued the man through the south coast towns of Nowra, Bomaderry, Berry, Gerringong, and Kiama at 180km/h, through some 80km/h speed zones.
Police tried to use road spikes to end the pursuit, but the driver allegedly swerved the vehicle towards a highway patrol officer narrowly missing him and the spikes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
NSW Police officer charged with possessing child abuse, bestiality material
A police officer has been suspended without pay after he was charged over the possession of child abuse and bestiality material, and for alleged misconduct. NSW Police said it began investigating reports of unauthorised access of the police computer system in March this year, before seizing the electronic devices of a senior constable in May. Mitchell Leslie, 38, was arrested on Tuesday morning and refused bail to appear at Hornsby Local Court that afternoon. It's alleged the officer had the child abuse and bestiality material on his personal phone and laptop. The prosecution told the court he was in possession of "potentially over 200,000 images" of child abuse material. Mr Leslie was charged with misconduct in public office, two counts of possessing child abuse material, person possessing bestiality material and three counts of access/modify restricted data held in computer. Court documents alleged he unlawfully accessed the confidential NSW Police Force computer policing system database and unlawfully accessed restricted data. Among allegations of misconduct, Mr Leslie has been accused of protecting his partner from being detected driving unlawfully, being "complicit" in his partner's brother avoiding apprehension of domestic violence offences, and misusing a police vehicle. Court documents also alleged he provided his partner with a letter on NSW Police letterhead for the Department of Communities and Justice to "assist with prioritised residence relocation". The documents said he did so "being outside the scope of his duty and a conflict of interest". His barrister Imogan Hogan applied for bail for reasons including that he was receiving mental health treatment and intended to be transferred to an in-patient PTSD program. Ms Hogan raised concerns over his custody, including that he was involved in the arrests of outlaw motorcycle gang members while he was part of the Raptor Squad. The prosecution argued the allegations he faced were "very serious" and that releasing him on bail or imposing conditions would be a risk. "Due to the unacceptable risk of further serious offending and interference with evidence and witnesses … there are significant bail concerns," the prosecution said. The magistrate refused his bail application "due to the unacceptable risk". He is suspended without pay, and an urgent review of his employment status is underway. Mr Leslie will next appear in court on September 10.
The Advertiser
6 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Revolting' abuse allegations against Latham disputed
"Disturbing and disgusting" claims of abuse have been made against a former prime ministerial candidate turned state MP, who has rejected the allegations as "ridiculous". Mark Latham took to social media on Monday night after news reports detailed some of the allegations. The claims were reportedly contained in an application for an apprehended domestic violence order made before a local court in Sydney. But the 64-year-old rejected an initial report published by The Australian, which outlined claims made by former partner Nathalie Matthews alleging a "sustained pattern" of abuse and manipulation. He described the allegations as "comically false and ridiculous". "I have scores of documents to show that and will rely upon them to defend myself," he posted on X. Mr Latham also said NSW Police had not contacted him about the abuse claims. The former federal Labor leader sits as an independent MP in NSW parliament's upper house. Ms Matthews lodged the private AVO application with the NSW Local Court and the case is listed for its first mention on July 30. The local court has refused media applications for the documents as they contain untested allegations. AAP has also contacted Ms Matthews for comment. The NSW government's leader in the upper house Penny Sharpe said she would not comment specifically on the matter before the court but described the reported allegations as "revolting". "These are very disturbing and frankly disgusting allegations that are being made," she told reporters on Tuesday. "The Labor government has been calling out Mark Latham ... in relation to his behaviour on a whole range of different things." Premier Chris Minns called the outspoken MP a "shameful bigot" during question time in June. Mr Latham ran in 2004 against coalition leader John Howard, who went on to become prime minister for another term. He resigned from parliament in early 2005 and subsequently left Labor before being elected to the NSW upper house in 2019 as a One Nation member. He quit that party in 2023, becoming an independent. In a separate court dispute, Mr Latham was ordered to pay $140,000 to independent MP Alex Greenwich in September 2024. Mr Greenwich sued over a sexually explicit and homophobic social media post ahead of the 2023 state election. The Federal Court found Mr Latham's tweet exposed Mr Greenwich, who is gay and a prominent LGBTQI community advocate, to a torrent of hateful abuse including death threats. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 "Disturbing and disgusting" claims of abuse have been made against a former prime ministerial candidate turned state MP, who has rejected the allegations as "ridiculous". Mark Latham took to social media on Monday night after news reports detailed some of the allegations. The claims were reportedly contained in an application for an apprehended domestic violence order made before a local court in Sydney. But the 64-year-old rejected an initial report published by The Australian, which outlined claims made by former partner Nathalie Matthews alleging a "sustained pattern" of abuse and manipulation. He described the allegations as "comically false and ridiculous". "I have scores of documents to show that and will rely upon them to defend myself," he posted on X. Mr Latham also said NSW Police had not contacted him about the abuse claims. The former federal Labor leader sits as an independent MP in NSW parliament's upper house. Ms Matthews lodged the private AVO application with the NSW Local Court and the case is listed for its first mention on July 30. The local court has refused media applications for the documents as they contain untested allegations. AAP has also contacted Ms Matthews for comment. The NSW government's leader in the upper house Penny Sharpe said she would not comment specifically on the matter before the court but described the reported allegations as "revolting". "These are very disturbing and frankly disgusting allegations that are being made," she told reporters on Tuesday. "The Labor government has been calling out Mark Latham ... in relation to his behaviour on a whole range of different things." Premier Chris Minns called the outspoken MP a "shameful bigot" during question time in June. Mr Latham ran in 2004 against coalition leader John Howard, who went on to become prime minister for another term. He resigned from parliament in early 2005 and subsequently left Labor before being elected to the NSW upper house in 2019 as a One Nation member. He quit that party in 2023, becoming an independent. In a separate court dispute, Mr Latham was ordered to pay $140,000 to independent MP Alex Greenwich in September 2024. Mr Greenwich sued over a sexually explicit and homophobic social media post ahead of the 2023 state election. The Federal Court found Mr Latham's tweet exposed Mr Greenwich, who is gay and a prominent LGBTQI community advocate, to a torrent of hateful abuse including death threats. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 "Disturbing and disgusting" claims of abuse have been made against a former prime ministerial candidate turned state MP, who has rejected the allegations as "ridiculous". Mark Latham took to social media on Monday night after news reports detailed some of the allegations. The claims were reportedly contained in an application for an apprehended domestic violence order made before a local court in Sydney. But the 64-year-old rejected an initial report published by The Australian, which outlined claims made by former partner Nathalie Matthews alleging a "sustained pattern" of abuse and manipulation. He described the allegations as "comically false and ridiculous". "I have scores of documents to show that and will rely upon them to defend myself," he posted on X. Mr Latham also said NSW Police had not contacted him about the abuse claims. The former federal Labor leader sits as an independent MP in NSW parliament's upper house. Ms Matthews lodged the private AVO application with the NSW Local Court and the case is listed for its first mention on July 30. The local court has refused media applications for the documents as they contain untested allegations. AAP has also contacted Ms Matthews for comment. The NSW government's leader in the upper house Penny Sharpe said she would not comment specifically on the matter before the court but described the reported allegations as "revolting". "These are very disturbing and frankly disgusting allegations that are being made," she told reporters on Tuesday. "The Labor government has been calling out Mark Latham ... in relation to his behaviour on a whole range of different things." Premier Chris Minns called the outspoken MP a "shameful bigot" during question time in June. Mr Latham ran in 2004 against coalition leader John Howard, who went on to become prime minister for another term. He resigned from parliament in early 2005 and subsequently left Labor before being elected to the NSW upper house in 2019 as a One Nation member. He quit that party in 2023, becoming an independent. In a separate court dispute, Mr Latham was ordered to pay $140,000 to independent MP Alex Greenwich in September 2024. Mr Greenwich sued over a sexually explicit and homophobic social media post ahead of the 2023 state election. The Federal Court found Mr Latham's tweet exposed Mr Greenwich, who is gay and a prominent LGBTQI community advocate, to a torrent of hateful abuse including death threats. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 "Disturbing and disgusting" claims of abuse have been made against a former prime ministerial candidate turned state MP, who has rejected the allegations as "ridiculous". Mark Latham took to social media on Monday night after news reports detailed some of the allegations. The claims were reportedly contained in an application for an apprehended domestic violence order made before a local court in Sydney. But the 64-year-old rejected an initial report published by The Australian, which outlined claims made by former partner Nathalie Matthews alleging a "sustained pattern" of abuse and manipulation. He described the allegations as "comically false and ridiculous". "I have scores of documents to show that and will rely upon them to defend myself," he posted on X. Mr Latham also said NSW Police had not contacted him about the abuse claims. The former federal Labor leader sits as an independent MP in NSW parliament's upper house. Ms Matthews lodged the private AVO application with the NSW Local Court and the case is listed for its first mention on July 30. The local court has refused media applications for the documents as they contain untested allegations. AAP has also contacted Ms Matthews for comment. The NSW government's leader in the upper house Penny Sharpe said she would not comment specifically on the matter before the court but described the reported allegations as "revolting". "These are very disturbing and frankly disgusting allegations that are being made," she told reporters on Tuesday. "The Labor government has been calling out Mark Latham ... in relation to his behaviour on a whole range of different things." Premier Chris Minns called the outspoken MP a "shameful bigot" during question time in June. Mr Latham ran in 2004 against coalition leader John Howard, who went on to become prime minister for another term. He resigned from parliament in early 2005 and subsequently left Labor before being elected to the NSW upper house in 2019 as a One Nation member. He quit that party in 2023, becoming an independent. In a separate court dispute, Mr Latham was ordered to pay $140,000 to independent MP Alex Greenwich in September 2024. Mr Greenwich sued over a sexually explicit and homophobic social media post ahead of the 2023 state election. The Federal Court found Mr Latham's tweet exposed Mr Greenwich, who is gay and a prominent LGBTQI community advocate, to a torrent of hateful abuse including death threats. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
NSW Police: Don't forget the many good among the bad and shameful
The unforgettable footage of NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott running towards danger that April Saturday afternoon last year at Bondi Junction is a reminder of the 'Sacred Trust' that encapsulates the high standards of conduct and ethical responsibility expected of the NSW Police Force. And at those moments of bereavement, injury, natural disaster and personal terror, many of us have experienced that trust first-hand, as police restore order and calm, help the human spirit endure and give meaning to life even amid death, horror and personal loss. And then there are Timothy John Trautsch and Nathan Black. The two former NSW Police officers assaulted, kicked, stomped on and capsicum-sprayed a naked, mentally unwell woman in a Western Sydney street before one of them sent body-worn camera clips to a colleague. The woman suffered from schizophrenia and had been released hours earlier from the nearby Amber Laurel women's prison in January 2023. The pair have pleaded guilty to violently assaulting her, and details of their brutal attack only became public after the Herald and other news outlets launched a legal bid to reveal their misconduct. Police claimed body-worn and CCTV footage should be suppressed for 60 years to protect the woman from further trauma. They left the force, but their behaviour only adds to the shadow that has fallen over NSW Police of late, courtesy of the actions of serving officers. Kristian White, a former police officer responsible for the taser death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland at a Cooma aged-care facility in May 2023, was found guilty of manslaughter by a NSW Supreme Court jury last November and sentenced to a two-year community correction order. Former officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has spent more than a year in prison awaiting trial after allegedly using his service-issued Glock pistol to shoot former partner Jesse Baird, a television presenter with whom he had allegedly become fixated, and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, inside a Paddington terrace in February 2024. And former senior constable Jonathan Charles Bettles admitted to repeatedly assaulting his former partner and pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including five counts of common assault, six of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two of destroying or damaging property and one of perverting the course of justice. Police often get bad press that can erode public trust and undermine the legitimacy of the force. Occasional headlines about death by Taser or police corrupt behaviour underscore the regrettable reality that members of the NSW Police serve the public within a paradox – a community that at times condemns them yet needs them in its most desperate hour.
