Seven-hour police standoff ends in arrest at Geelong property

Details of an hours-long siege that shut down a Bell Park street have been aired in court, as police revealed the man allegedly threatened to kill officers if they set foot inside.

A man accused of assaulting a woman and barricading himself inside a Geelong property during a stand off with specialist police has fronted court

The man, Peter Banzic, appeared in the dock at the Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being arrested following the alleged seven-hour standoff on Tuesday evening,

The court heard Banzic allegedly assaulted a woman at the property at about 4.30pm, leading the alleged victim to call her mother.

Police alleged she “screamed for help” over the phone as the man continued to assault her and her mother contacted the police.

Police arrived and saw the woman after requesting she come to a window, before she was allegedly pulled back by Banzic.

Some officers went to the back of the property, the court heard, and saw Banzic put the alleged victim in a headlock, the court heard.

Police used a baton to smash open a window, fearing for the complainant’s safety.

The court heard Banzic allegedly let go of the woman, but warned he would kill the officers if they entered.

The alleged victim managed to escape and had no visible injuries, the court heard, but allegedly told police Banzic had kicked her.

The siege lasted five hours with the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) being summoned from Melbourne to assist.

At 11.45pm, the man was finally arrested and transported to Geelong police station, but the court heard he was unable to be interviewed.

On Wednesday the court heard it was his first time in custody, and his lawyer noted a number of custody management issues.

Mr Banzic’s lawyer told the court her client had a limited prior history, but was on an adjourned undertaking at the time of the siege.

He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and although it hadn’t directly contributed to the alleged offending, “it wouldn’t be a long bow to draw that there are issues with mental health, and there issues with drug use,” his lawyer said.

It was his first time in custody, the court heard, and he was struggling in the cells due to his diabetes and asthma.

His lawyer asked the court to place Mr Banzic on a community corrections order (CCO), with provisions for alcohol and drug treatment, arguing it would benefit the community to see Mr Banzic rehabilitated.

Mr Banzic will make an application for bail on Thursday.

Police at the scene of a siege in Bell Park.

Police were called to McClelland St in Bell Park about 4.30pm to investigate an alleged assault but man allegedly refused to comply with directions.

Officers soon closed McClelland, Yaraan and Thorburn streets and urged residents to stay indoors and the public to avoid the area while negotiations were conducted.

The situation came to an end about 11.30pm when the man was taken into custody.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed a 51-year-old Bell Park man had been charged with false imprisonment, unlawful assault and contravening a court order.

He was remanded overnight to appear at Geelong Magistrates Court today.

Police were at the scene of a siege in Bell Park.

A neighbour said: “A whole lot of police came, there was armoured guard with machine guns”.

“It was like a bomb threat, but it wasn’t.

“It was like they were playing a cat-and-mouse game.”

Another neighbour said the ordeal was unusual for the usually quiet neighbourhood.

“I was scared,” she said.

Police were at the scene of a siege in Bell Park. Picture: Sunrise

A man further along McClelland St said the whole neighbourhood came out to see the situation unfold.

“Someone’s called the cops, and he’s just barricaded himself inside the house,” he said.

“The police came about 4.30pm, I ducked out to do a few things for an hour and I can back and the street was all taped off.”

A shred of police tape could still be seen on the fence of a home on the corner with Thorburn St.

“At about 5.30pm the SWAT looking cops rocked up,” the neighbour said.

“There was a big standoff, we were watching until 10:30 when we realised we hadn’t had dinner yet.

“Everyone was curious, standing outside, you could hear pretty clearly what was going on.

“There was a negotiator, you could hear the man inside.

“The SWAT cops were breaking the windows slowly, they were trying to identify where he was inside.

“I think at one point they used tear gas, but he withstood all that, he stayed inside.”

The neighbour said the house had been subject to a fire about six months ago.

Fire damage was visible from the exterior of the building.

Originally published as Seven-hour police standoff ends in arrest at Geelong property