Bourke Street’s ‘trolley man’ tried to stop terrorist

Graham Ashton says trolleyman’s actions could have had dangerous consequences as a fundraising drive to say thank you hits $110,000.

Victoria’s top police officer has cautioned the public against taking actions similar to those of the “trolleyman” who intervened in the Bourke Street terrorist attack while a fundraising initiative to say thank you to the homeless man has raised more than $110,000.

Michael Rogers, 46, has received widespread praise after footage emerged of him trying to ram into Hassan Khalif Shire Ali as the terrorist attempted to stab police officers.

His phone was broken during the incident and a crowdfunding campaign was launched yesterday by the National Homeless Collective to help him replace it.

Victorian Police commissioner Graham Ashton told 3AW that Mr Rogers’ actions could have had potentially dangerous consequences.

“I don’t like to criticise people in that situation, he’s acting instinctively about what he’s looking at in front of him,” Mr Ashton said.

“But if a trolley had hit a police member and knocked him over and then this offender got on top of him, we could have had a tragic consequence.

“I think he was trying to support the police in his own way, so I haven’t been jumping on him over the weekend.”

Donna Salzberg, National Homeless Collective CEO, said Mr Rogers, who has a long and chequered history with law enforcement, had put himself in harm’s way to help.

“He got up to protect two police officers... we don’t see that much, he just jumped up without any thought of concern himself …” she said.

“There were dozens of people standing around and he was the only one who jumped in there and put his life at risk for strangers … he is the epitome of being a hero.”

Ms Salzberg said the incredible response is due to people wanting to help in someway after Friday’s tragedy.

“There’s this huge sense of helplessness when things like this happen and people have no avenue to do things help,” she said.

“It’s [GoFundMe campaign] created an avenue to say people to say thank you to Michael … the message we’re getting from people on the page are incredible, the love and gratitude from people.”

Ms Salzberg said Mr Rogers was doing okay, but the reality of Friday’s events were beginning to sink in.

“He was as okay to be expected, he’s definitely coming down and the shock and the reality of what happened are hitting him, and a sense of loneliness,” she said.

Ms Salzberg said she was working to ensure Mr Rogers received the help he needed.

The GoFundMe campaign has attracted more than $110,000 and will run for another week.

Bourke Street’s ‘trolley man’ tried to stop terrorist

A homeless man who tried to stop the Bourke Street terrorist with a shopping trolley looks set to receive tens of thousands of dollars as a thank you gift.

Michael Rogers, 46, he was widely praised after being filmed trying to ram the trolley into Hassan Khalif Shire Ali as he chased and tried to stab police officers with a knife in Bourke Street on Friday.

Mr Rogers’s mobile phone was broken in the incident and a crowdfunding page set up to help him replace it and has attracted more than $90,000 in donations since it was set up this morning.

Dubbed “trolley man”, the hard-on-his-luck good Samaritan told Seven News he’d been trying to knock Shire Ali off his feet as the chaos unfolded.

“I’ve seen the trolley to the side and I picked it up and I ran and threw the trolley straight at him and got him but didn’t get him down,” he said.

“And I did that motion quite a number of times and it just was not getting him down.”

The Sunday Herald Sun tracked Mr Rogers down to a park bench not far from the scene on Friday. His phone, one of his few possessions, was smashed in the incident.

In the hours following the media’s identification of the good Samaritan, a GoFundMe page was set up by the Melbourne Homeless Collective to reward Mr Rogers’ selfless efforts and “help him out”.

Donna Salzberg, CEO of the National Homeless Collective,

“‘Trolleyman’ put his own life at risk to stop a terrorist who was on a rampage,” the campaign’s organiser wrote.

“He’s a hero in our eyes and he can do what he feels best with any funds he receives. He risked his own life that day for nothing in return and you can’t put a price on that.”

By Sunday lunchtime, the organisers’ $15,000 target had been easily eclipsed.

Another bystander, wielding a chair above his head, also tried to come to the aid of police moments before they shot Shire Ali in the chest at point blank range.

Social media lit up with praise for the pair and calls for them to be officially recognised for their bravery in the face of such grave danger.

Further along the street, Melbourne’s iconic Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar has become a makeshift shrine to honour the life of beloved co-owner Sisto Malaspina, who was killed in the attack.