A man has died after he was arrested while allegedly attempting to enter vehicles armed with a knife in the middle of Sydney traffic.
Police declared a critical incident after officers responded to reports of a man trying to stop traffic and enter vehicles on Remembrance Driveway at Tahmoor in Sydney’s south-west at about 1pm on Friday.
Police arrived to find a 33-year-old man lying over the bonnet of a vehicle stopped in traffic, they said in a statement late on Friday night, and drew a Taser and verbally directed him to the ground.
The man complied with the order.
“There was no discharge of the Taser probes,” police said in the statement. “Police effected the arrest and handcuffing of the man, assisted by members of the public. A knife was located at the scene.”
Ambulance members then arrived and took the man to hospital under police guard.
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While on the way to the hospital, the man “suffered a significant medical episode”, police said, prompting the ambulance to stop on the roadside and “provide critical medical attention”. Two further ambulance crews joined the effort.
“A coordinated life saving operation was undertaken, however the man was unable to be revived and died at Liverpool hospital a short time later,” police said.
A critical incident team from Bankstown Police Area Command was due to investigate the circumstances surrounding the man’s death, police said.
The incident was also subject to an independent review by the Professional Standards Command and overseen by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
