A man was charged with multiple offences following a dramatic citizen’s arrest conducted by a group of quick-thinking tradies yesterday afternoon.
Emergency services were called to a street in Broadbeach on Queensland’s Gold Coast on Friday morning after a man crashed a car into a pole.
The Ford Mondeo was allegedly stolen from a Bilambil Heights, NSW address on June 13.
The 25-year-old driver was taken down by a group of tradies who saw him attempting to flee on foot.
The four men donning high-vis shirts restrained the man by sitting on his back until police arrived and arrested him.
In dramatic footage of the incident, the driver can be heard angrily muttering profanities at the men before one of the tradies tells him to “calm down”.
He was charged with one count each of driving under the influence of liquor, drive without due care and attention, driving on a disqualified licence, enter premises and commit, receiving tainted property and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
He was refused police bail and was due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on June 17.
After clips of the event began circulating on social media, many people commended the tradies on their actions.
“Well done gents,” one person commented on Twitter.
“Yea to the tradies, glad no one was hurt,” another said.
“Just another day on the Goldy!!” a third person joked.
A citizen’s arrest is when an individual, who is not a duly sworn police officer, detains a person who they believe is committing or has just committed an offence such as theft, assault or criminal damage.
Important requirements need to be in place before a citizen’s arrest is considered legal.
If one were to perform a citizen’s arrest without a justifiable cause, or if they do not bring the person before a police office in a timely manner, they could face charges for assault, false imprisonment or deprivation of liberty, according to Sydney Criminal Lawyers.
A citizen’s arrest can only be made when it is on the basis of having seen a person you are arresting committing an offence.
Mere suspicion does not justify a citizen detaining a person.
It is also imperative to be aware of one’s own health and safety if one decides to conduct a citizen’s arrest.
In addition to the possibility of a person endangering themselves during a citizen’s arrest, it is vital that only ‘reasonable force’ is used to detain the other person.
Last month, a man accused of going on a terrifying rampage in a stolen vehicle was hauled out of the mangled car and pinned down in another dramatic citizen’s arrest.
The 25-year-old driver was confronted by furious onlookers at Kingsgrove, in Sydney’s southwest, on May 17.
Footage of the incident begins with the car allegedly mounting the kerb, smashing into multiple cars and then repeatedly ramming into a fence.
An onlooker in a blue shirt can be seen hauling the driver from the car before screaming out: “Get on the f***ing ground.”
“Are you sick you f***wit? You almost killed us! What’s wrong with you?,” shouts a courier in a red Aramax shirt who arrives at the car moments later.
“Stand there, don’t move.”
The dazed driver struggled to respond and moans as the two men interrogate him.
“Where is your licence? You don’t have nothing? Is this a stolen vehicle?,” the Aramax courier continues.
“Are you on drugs?”
The man was then taken to Campsie Police Station, where he was hit with multiple charges, including police pursuit, driving a stolen vehicle, aggravated break and enter, failure to provide details after an accident, possession of an unauthorised firearm, and driving without a license.
The accused was denied bail and was scheduled to appear before Bankstown Local Court on Thursday, May 18.