Latest news with #ScottRaven
The Australian
3 days ago
- The Australian
Sydney Airport lockdown after person arrested by police
A man has been charged following a struggle with AFP officers at Sydney Airport's T2 terminal, during which a police firearm was discharged. The 41-year-old Victorian man was allegedly acting suspiciously next to a cafe at the terminal when he was approached by officers. AFP acting commander Scott Raven said the man became 'verbally and physically aggressive' towards officers and was eventually placed under arrest. During the arrest, one of the officers' firearms – a short-barrelled rifle – was 'unintentionally discharged'. Mr Raven wouldn't say how the rifle went off. 'The circumstances of how the firearm … was discharged is now subject to an internal investigation,' he said. 'Additional AFP officers assisted with the incident and a crime scene was established and investigations commenced.' No one was injured in the incident. A man has been arrested after a police firearm was discharged at Sydney Airport. Picture: 2GB The Victorian man has since been charged with one count of obstruct/hinder/intimidate/resist a Commonwealth official and one count of creating a disturbance at an airport. The maximum penalty for first offence is two years imprisonment, while the second can result in a $3300 fine. He is expected to face Downing Centre Local Court on September 1. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Raven said the man was known to police and had previous interaction with officers the day before. 'We had dealt with him yesterday in relation to a number of incidents about his behaviour and he left the airport,' he said. It was initially reported the incident sent part of the T2 terminal into lockdown, according to 2GB's Ben Fordham. However, Mr Raven confirmed the airport had not been locked down, and there was no ongoing threat to the community. He said 'passengers expect to feel safe while travelling and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour'. It is not known if the man was intoxicated at the time of the arrest. He has since been charged, police say. Picture: Supplied/2GB A former police dog handler recalled the terrifying moment he intervened in the struggle. William was due to fly from Sydney to Townsville with his companion, a NSW Police sergeant, when he witnessed a man allegedly struggling with two AFP officers. Speaking to 2GB after the incident, he said one of the officer's long guns had gone to the ground and was underneath the man when it went off. William said they worked with police to restrain the man, with his colleague helping 'lock' the man's right hand. 'I applied a wrist lock to lock his left wrist up,' William said. Asked if he was worried about where the bullet hit – as the gun fired close to the cafe – William said he was concerned about the safety of the man on the floor. 'I was worried about a phenomenon called positional asphyxiation. We had to protect the man who was being restrained,' he told host Mark Levy. 'We had to get him safe, get the firearm safe, of course, identify where the case was … making sure no one else was injured.' A 41-year-old has been charged with multiple offences. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short A spokesman for Sydney Airport media earlier confirmed an altercation had taken place at a domestic terminal of the Mascot airport on Wednesday morning. 'Sydney Airport is currently assisting Australian Federal Police following an incident earlier this morning,' a statement read. 'No injuries occurred as a result of the incident. An airport spokesman said the incident did not cause any disruption to flights. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short A police firearm was discharged during the incident. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short 'An arrest has been made and the airport is operating normally.' Video obtained by 2GB showed a man pinned to floor by at least two other men, with a AFP officer brandishing a rifle kneeling on the floor next to the group. A witness told 2GB they were in the Jetstar terminal 'on the other side of the coffee shop when the gun went off'. 'It was loud, everyone hit the deck,' they said. 'I think it was a police gun. I think it was fired during the initial struggle.' The incident reportedly plunged part of the airport into lockdown. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper. Sydney Airport did not report any flight disruptions, with domestic arrivals and departures running to schedule. The T2 terminal is predominantly serviced by Jetstar, Qantas' low-cost subsidiary, and Virgin Australia. Jetstar were contacted for comment but said it was a matter for the AFP. Read related topics: Sydney Airport
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- The Advertiser
Police bullet accidentally fired during airport arrest
An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department. An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department. An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department. An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department.
