Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has demonstrated that he is prepared to work alongside frontline officers after personally helping arrest an armed suspect in Melbourne’s CBD during an incident that unfolded while he was travelling to work.
The incident occurred about 6am on Collins Street when Bush and a colleague came across two police officers attempting to detain a man who was allegedly armed and refusing to comply with police directions. According to Victoria Police, officers had already used a Taser during the confrontation but were still struggling to fully restrain the suspect.
Bush said he immediately recognised that the officers required assistance.
“We saw a couple of our fine colleagues pursuing someone who was obviously a threat to the community,” he said when describing the incident.
The Chief Commissioner explained that he and his colleague first attempted to stop the man verbally after pulling their vehicle alongside him.
“They didn’t take us up on our invitation verbally to remain where they were,” Bush said.
With the suspect continuing to run, Bush decided to intervene personally.
“I got out of the vehicle and put my arms around him and restrained him until my colleagues arrived and he was arrested,” he said.
During the struggle, Bush said the man discarded what appeared to be a chisel along with another tool that police believe could potentially be used to break into vehicles or homes.
“As I was very close to approaching him, he discarded a sharp weapon, which turned out to be a chisel,” Bush said, adding that another implement was also thrown away moments before physical contact was made.
Speaking afterwards, Bush joked that his rugby background briefly crossed his mind as he considered how to stop the fleeing suspect.
Asked whether he thought about making a rugby-style tackle, he laughed that he had considered “going low”, but ultimately decided it was unnecessary because he was able to restrain the man without using that approach.
Bush also joked that he was unsure who was more surprised by the encounter.
“I’m not sure who got the biggest fright – the person we were restraining or my two colleagues who looked up and saw who was assisting them,” he said.
The alleged offender, identified by police as a 32-year-old Brunswick man, was later taken to hospital for medical assessment while detectives continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. No serious injuries to police officers were reported.
The arrest has attracted widespread attention because Bush has only recently taken over as Victoria Police’s Chief Commissioner after previously serving as Commissioner of New Zealand Police between 2014 and 2020. He officially began leading Victoria Police in June 2025 following his appointment by the Victorian Government.
Rather than treating the incident as unusual, Bush said stepping in was simply part of being a police officer.
“We’re police officers first and bosses second,” he said.
“When you see your colleagues needing some support, you jump straight in.”
The Chief Commissioner revealed this was not the first time he had become personally involved in law enforcement while in Melbourne.
Only weeks earlier, while off duty, Bush said he confronted a shoplifter leaving a 7-Eleven convenience store. After identifying himself as an off-duty police officer, he persuaded the individual to return to the store and pay for the stolen goods rather than face arrest.
According to Bush, he offered the person “the easy way or the hard way”, and the matter was resolved without further confrontation.
Police leadership experts often argue that visible frontline engagement can strengthen organisational culture by demonstrating solidarity with operational officers. Bush said he intends to lead by example whenever circumstances require direct action.
While senior police executives typically spend much of their time overseeing strategy, budgets and organisational management, they remain fully sworn police officers with the same legal powers as other members of the force.
The Melbourne incident has therefore been viewed by many within policing circles as a practical demonstration of that principle.
Victoria Police has not indicated that Bush’s intervention altered operational procedures during the arrest, with the incident continuing to be treated as a routine criminal investigation involving an allegedly armed suspect.
Nevertheless, the episode has generated significant public attention because it is unusual to see the state’s most senior police officer personally involved in restraining an offender on one of Melbourne’s busiest city streets.
For Bush, however, the incident reinforced the message he says he wants every Victoria Police member to understand: rank should never become a barrier to supporting colleagues when public safety is at stake.
