Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush personally helped arrest an alleged armed offender after unexpectedly encountering a police pursuit in Melbourne’s central business district.
Police received several Triple Zero calls on Wednesday morning reporting that a man was carrying what appeared to be a knife in the CBD. Patrolling officers located and confronted the man on Queen Street, but police said he refused to comply with their directions.
Officers attempted to stop the man using a conducted-energy device, commonly known as a Taser. The device reportedly had no effect, and the man ran from officers along Collins Street.
Bush was travelling to work in a vehicle with his security officer when he noticed the man being pursued by police. The chief commissioner got out of the vehicle and restrained the suspect until the security officer and other police arrived to assist with the arrest.
Police later recovered a chisel that the man had allegedly thrown away shortly before being detained. Although the original emergency calls referred to a knife, the chisel was the item seized following the incident.
The arrested man was identified by police as a 32-year-old from Brunswick. He was taken to hospital for medical assessment, and authorities said nobody was injured during the confrontation or arrest. Investigations into the incident were continuing.
The unusual intervention placed Victoria’s most senior police officer directly into a frontline arrest. Bush, a former New Zealand police commissioner, became Victoria Police chief commissioner in June 2025.
The incident follows another case in January in which Homicide Squad Inspector Dean Thomas reportedly pursued a 14-year-old boy while on a lunch break with colleagues. Police alleged the teenager had punched a man near the DFO food court on Spencer Street. The boy was later charged on summons and released from custody.
