Victoria's top cop helps arrest alleged armed offender in Melbourne CBD

Thu 16 Jul 2026 at 11:03am

Thu 16 Jul 2026 at 11:03am

In short:

Victoria Police arrested an alleged offender who was armed with a chisel with assistance from the force's chief commissioner.

Chief Commissioner Mike Bush was walking in the CBD along Queen Street yesterday morning when he encountered a man running from other officers, and arrested him.

No-one was injured during the arrest.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has helped take down an alleged weapon-wielding offender while walking in Melbourne’s CBD.

The ABC understands the state's top cop was walking on Queen Street at about 6am yesterday when he came across a man who had run away from other officers nearby.

Police say they tried to taser the alleged offender, but the attempt failed before Commissioner Bush and members of his security detail took him to the ground.

Initial reports had suggested the man was carrying a knife, but officers searched the man and found a chisel before he was taken to hospital for assessment.

No-one was injured during the arrest.

Exactly where Commissioner Bush had been travelling to with his security team remains unclear.

The takedown comes just over six months after Inspector Dean Thomas of the Homicide Squad chased an alleged teenage offender while on his lunch break with colleagues.

The group of officers reportedly saw the 14-year-old allegedly punch a man in the head near the DFO food court on Spencer Street in January.

At the time, police charged the boy on summons and he was released from custody.