Police officer, security guard hospitalised after Geelong Market Square incident

A man has been charged after a police officer and a security guard where injured after an alleged assault at Market Square.

Market Square Geelong. Photo: Josh Williamson

A man has been charged after an alleged knife theft gone wrong on Sunday.

Emergency services were called to Market Square about 10.30am where it is alleged a security guard and a police office were both injured during an arrest.

Witnesses on the scene claimed they saw a man running through the shopping centre from law enforcement before he was arrested near an exit.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Belinda Batty alleged the incident began when a 22-year-old man entered a toilet block in the central Geelong precinct and assaulted a man.

The victim didn’t require treatment.

The man then allegedly stole knives from a nearby business, but was stopped by security and police.

During the arrest, the pair were allegedly cut by knives which police say were in the man’s pocket.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen confirmed the two alleged vicitms, both in their 30s, were treated by paramedics.

He said one sustained a leg injury and was taken to Geelong hospital in a private car.

Another man was treated for lacerations and taken to Geelong hospital in a stable condition.

The 22-year-old man, of no fixed address, has been charged with assault, theft, criminal damage and resisting people.

He will appear in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday.

Cop, guard injured in alleged knife theft gone wrong

A man has been arrested and two others are in hospital after an alleged knife theft gone wrong.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Market Square after 10.30am on Sunday morning where it is alleged a security guard and police officer were injured during an arrest.

Witnesses on the scene claimed they saw a man running through the shopping centre from law enforcement before he was arrested near an exit.

The Little Malop St entrance near Toy World remained blocked off with police tape in the early afternoon, with blood and shopping bags strewn across the floor.

A police presence onsite was processing the scene and cleaning up after lunch.

. The scene in Market Square Picture: Mark Wilson

Victoria Police spokeswoman Belinda Batty alleged the incident began after a 22-year-old man entered a toilet block in the central Geelong precinct and assaulted a man known to him.

The victim didn’t require treatment.

The 22-year-old allegedly then stole knives from a nearby business, but was halted by security and police.

During the arrest, the pair were allegedly cut by knives in the man’s pocket.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen confirmed two men in their 30s were treated by paramedics.

He said one sustained a leg injury and was taken to Geelong hospital in a private car.

Another man was treated for lacerations and taken to Geelong hospital in a stable condition.

Victoria Police confirmed the officer was being treated for “minor injuries”.

The alleged offender, believed to be of no fixed address, has been taken to Geelong police station and is assisting police with their inquiries.

Market Square has recently come under local scrutiny, with community members calling on the owners to upgrade the aging precinct.

The scene in Market Square Picture: Mark Wilson

According to Victoria Police statistics, more than 1000 Geelong region police and emergency services workers have been injured on the job in the last decade.

Data revealed 122 of those assaults happened in 2022.

Last year a police officer was allegedly stabbed while performing a routine welfare check in Torquay.

At the time, Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said police officers and emergency services workers put their safety on the line every day at work.

“When police put on their uniform, they’re preparing for the unknown,” he told the Geelong Advertiser last year.

“What confronts them during the course of a shift is out of their control but becomes their responsibility. It’s a heavy responsibility to deal with.”

Originally published as Police officer, security guard hospitalised after Geelong Market Square incident