Wild moment cop pepper-sprays man in the face as all hell breaks loose on busy Sydney nightlife strip
Tensions in Sydney boiled over on a popular nightlife strip at the weekend with some partygoers clashing with police as the city remains on edge after the Bondi attack.
A shocking video shot on Friday night showed a NSW Police officer arguing with two other men outside the Metro Theatre on George Street, in Sydney’s CBD, about 9.50pm.
The policeman was seen talking with a man in a black T-shirt and black shorts who yelled at the officer to ‘do it again’.
‘Come here,’ he man said, while gesturing for the cop to move closer.
A man wearing a brown jumper and black pants suddenly appeared from behind the policeman, who pulled around him to stand beside the first aggressive man.
The officer then took out a can of capsicum spray, also known as pepper spray, and yelled at the men to ‘get back’.
Despite the cop’s repeated warnings, the man in the brown jumper continued to approach him.
After pushing him away once, the policeman shoved the man to the ground.
A crowd outside Sydney’s Metro theatre became unruly on Friday night, sparking a clash with NSW Police officers
Only when the man tried to stand up and approach the officer a third time, the cop sprayed him with the capsicum spray.
A crowd gathered to watch the confrontation cheered as the man was sprayed.
Brisbane-based rapper, Topix, told Daily Mail he captured the moment on his Meta glasses while walking through the CBD.
He believed officers were initially called to the scene in response to a ‘social media performance artist’ who had ‘painted himself yellow’.
‘They ended up talking to some bloke then he got scared and ran, slipped and fell and got arrested,’ Topix said.
Officers took the man back to their car, outside the Metro Theatre, after the arrest outside the Plaza Hotel – about 50m down the road.
That was when the two men approached the group of officers, singling out one.
Topix said a crowd quickly formed to watch the chaotic interaction but didn’t appear to be on either side.
The officer used capsicum spray on a man (pictured in a brown jumper) after he repeatedly approached the cop aggressively
‘The crowd was definitely not on the cop’s side but I don’t think anyone in the crowd was specifically involved with the prior arrest either,’ he said.
‘It just kept getting crazier and crazier so the crowd became bigger and more vocal.
‘I guess everyone was kind of taking the p***.’
Footage of the incident has been watched online more than two-millions times, with the majority of commenters siding with police.
‘Being surrounded like that would be pretty intimidating I don’t blame them for using force,’ one wrote.
‘Roll out the water cannon,’ another said.
‘Good job to the cop. When I was growing up we were taught to respect police,’ another wrote.
‘Why do people need to antagonise the police? He was clearly warned to back down,’ another said.
The cop repeatedly told the man to leave the area but he instead walk towards the cop
NSW Police confirmed an 18-year-old was arrested in Sydney CBD on Friday night.
‘After a short foot pursuit, the man was arrested by officers, during which he allegedly resisted, and a large crowd gathered and began hindering police,’ it said in a statement.
‘When the crowd became hostile and failed to comply with directions of police, OC spray was deployed into the crowd.
‘With the assistance of officers attached to the Central Metropolitan Region Operation Support Group, the large crowd was dispersed without further incident.
‘During the arrest, a male constable suffered shoulder injuries and was taken to hospital for further treatment.’
The 18-year-old was charged with excluded person remain in vicinity of licensed premises, hinder or resist police officer in the execution of duty, possess prohibited drug and breach of bail.
He was refused bail and fronted Bail Division Court on Saturday where he was granted conditional bail and told to appear in Newtown Local Court on January 27.
In a separate but eerily similar incident on Monday, another man was taken to hospital in a critical condition after being pepper-sprayed by police.
NSW Police are allowed to use capsicum spray to protect human life or animals
The 52-year-old has not been charged with any offence but NSW Police used capsicum spray while arresting him to prevent a ‘breach of the peace’ as they responded to an alleged domestic violence incident in Sydney’s inner-west.
The man suffered a medical episode soon after the arrest and was treated by paramedics before being taken to Westmead Hospital.
Authorities have established a crime scene and a critical incident team will investigate.
The investigation will be independently reviewed by the police force’s Professional Standards Command and overseen by the law enforcement watchdog.
NSW Police guidelines on capsicum sprays state they may be used to protect human life or animals, or as a ‘less than lethal option for controlling people, where violent resistance or confrontation occurs or is likely to occur’.
Police use of capsicum spray has come under scrutiny in recent months after it was allegedly deployed on a 13-year-old boy at a Palestine rally in 2024 and a group of protesters during a rally at the Indo Pacific Naval Defence Expo in November.
The Melbourne Supreme Court in December found police use of the spray on a climate protester constituted battery and was unlawful, ordering the state of Victoria to pay $54,000 in damages to the activist.
