Lord Mayor Sally Capp regrets intervening in four-man CBD fight
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor made headlines last week when she attempted to break up a four-man fight in the CBD. Now, Sally Capp has revealed why she regrets the brash move and what prompted her to take action.
VIC News
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Lord Mayor Sally Capp has vowed to first call police instead of intervening in CBD punch-ups, after attempting to dispel a night-time bust-up between four men.
The new strategy comes after Ms Capp made headlines this week after admitting she tried to break up the alleged brawl in Elizabeth St after attending a concert.
The Lord Mayor, who was pushed out of the way, has now revealed to the Sunday Herald Sun that she regrets stepping in like that.
“I believe that the behaviour you walk past is the behaviour you condone, and that’s why I got involved,” she said.
“I learnt a valuable lesson that it’s best to leave these kinds of incidents to Victoria Police – if it happens again I will yell: ‘I’ve called the police.”
“We don’t want to see violence on our streets.”
Last week, Cr Capp said she thought that if she stepped into the middle of the fight it might de-escalate the situation.
“I felt...that if I used my mother’s voice I might get them to stop just for a moment to think about what they were doing,” she told 3AW’s Ross and John Show.
“It didn’t work.”
Cr Capp’s incident followed the Sunday Herald Sun highlighting an attack on the paper’s staff member Tom Winch, who was allegedly punched in the face by a man on the corner of Elizabeth and Flinders streets on January 30.
The alleged offender, 40, of no fixed address, was charged by police in Prahran last week and remanded to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
The Salvation Army’s Major Brendan Nottle said police did a great job maintaining law and order in the CBD, but were faced with more cases of drug and alcohol-fuelled behaviour.
“There’s been an increase in violence fuelled by ice and synthetic drugs,” he said.
“Our strong advice is not to intervene, but to move to a safe location and call triple 0.”
The Elizabeth St precinct near Flinders St Station is a notorious hot spot for crime, rough sleepers, beggars and general seediness.
This week, the City of Melbourne will install several trees in the area ahead of permanent improvements made later this year.
Under the changes, vehicles travelling south along Elizabeth St will be banned from the area between Flinders Lane and Flinders St.
Footpaths will be extended to increase pedestrian space by 400 sqm, and new street furniture, lighting and paving put in.
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