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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/23/off-duty-police-assaulted-in-sydney-brawl-with-one-repeatedly-punched-and-kicked-in-the-head
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| Police hunt three men after ‘very violent attack’ on off-duty officers in Newtown | Police hunt three men after ‘very violent attack’ on off-duty officers in Newtown |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Two 25-year-old constables hospitalised in Sydney with one battling ‘serious head injuries’ after late-night assault on Enmore Road | Two 25-year-old constables hospitalised in Sydney with one battling ‘serious head injuries’ after late-night assault on Enmore Road |
| Two off-duty police officers have been assaulted in Sydney with one knocked to the ground and rendered unconscious in a “very violent attack”, New South Wales police allege. | Two off-duty police officers have been assaulted in Sydney with one knocked to the ground and rendered unconscious in a “very violent attack”, New South Wales police allege. |
| Police said the officers, both 25-year-old male constables, had been walking along Enmore Road in Newtown after attending a concert when they approached three unknown men in their 20s who were arguing. | |
| “The two off-duty officers were assaulted with one of them knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched and kicked to the head,” a police spokesperson said. | “The two off-duty officers were assaulted with one of them knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched and kicked to the head,” a police spokesperson said. |
| Supt Despa Fitzgerald told media that CCTV showed “three males that police want to speak to” involved “in some sort of heated discussion amongst each other” when the off-duty officers were walking by. | |
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| “Some conversation it appears has taken place and then the assaults on the two off-duty officers has occurred,” she said. | |
| “The CCTV footage shows a group of men attacking an officer that is on the ground and another officer … it is very violent, I have watched it, it’s very confronting and distressing.” | “The CCTV footage shows a group of men attacking an officer that is on the ground and another officer … it is very violent, I have watched it, it’s very confronting and distressing.” |
| Police said they were called to the brawl at around 11pm and found a “25-year-old man unconscious on the roadway”. | Police said they were called to the brawl at around 11pm and found a “25-year-old man unconscious on the roadway”. |
| An off-duty nurse performed CPR on the off-duty officer until paramedics arrived and took him to Royal Prince Alfred hospital, where he remains in a serious but stable condition. | An off-duty nurse performed CPR on the off-duty officer until paramedics arrived and took him to Royal Prince Alfred hospital, where he remains in a serious but stable condition. |
| Fitzgerald said the man had sustained “serious head injuries” and the outcome may have been “something more serious” if bystanders hadn’t rendered CPR. | |
| “The officer was unconscious for some time, without their assistance we may be talking about something more serious … anything could have happened,” she said. | “The officer was unconscious for some time, without their assistance we may be talking about something more serious … anything could have happened,” she said. |
| “I met with the family of the officer … at hospital this morning, they were obviously distressed to have to come to a hospital to give support to their son … thinking [he] was going out for a night out and this ended up occurring.” | “I met with the family of the officer … at hospital this morning, they were obviously distressed to have to come to a hospital to give support to their son … thinking [he] was going out for a night out and this ended up occurring.” |
| Asked if the off-duty officers were attempting to break up the disagreement between the three men, Fitzgerald said further details hadn’t been confirmed as they were yet to be interviewed due to their medical conditions. | |
| She said the attack that rendered the officer unconscious was over in a “matter of minutes”. | She said the attack that rendered the officer unconscious was over in a “matter of minutes”. |
| The three men reportedly ran from the scene before police arrived, with two allegedly fleeing on foot towards the Enmore Road precinct and one heading towards King Street. | |
| The second off-duty officer, also 25, suffered facial injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment before being discharged. He was expected to be interviewed on Thursday afternoon. | |
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| Fitzgerald said police were pursuing “positive lines of inquiries” but no arrests had been made in relation to the assault. | Fitzgerald said police were pursuing “positive lines of inquiries” but no arrests had been made in relation to the assault. |
| “We’ve interviewed various witnesses overnight and today … I’m confident they’ll be caught,” Fitzgerald said. | “We’ve interviewed various witnesses overnight and today … I’m confident they’ll be caught,” Fitzgerald said. |
| “We will be hunting down those persons of interest, we will be knocking on your door, if you have anything you want to say please hand yourselves in to police.” | “We will be hunting down those persons of interest, we will be knocking on your door, if you have anything you want to say please hand yourselves in to police.” |
| The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, said the two men were “out enjoying themselves in a vibrant part of the city” before the “dangerous attack”. | |
| “We do not want this on our streets,” she told reporters on Thursday. | “We do not want this on our streets,” she told reporters on Thursday. |
| Catley urged anyone with information to come forward to police, adding there was extensive video evidence to “get these perpetrators behind bars as soon as possible”. | |
| “It’s a very busy area where this offence occurred,” she said. “It’s very early in this investigation … [but] know that there will be dashcam footage, CCTV footage, indeed people with their cameras videoing.” | “It’s a very busy area where this offence occurred,” she said. “It’s very early in this investigation … [but] know that there will be dashcam footage, CCTV footage, indeed people with their cameras videoing.” |
| Catley thanked bystanders who rendered medical assistance until the ambulance arrived, describing their help as “life saving events”. | Catley thanked bystanders who rendered medical assistance until the ambulance arrived, describing their help as “life saving events”. |
| “We have such gratitude for you coming in and helping those officers who were injured, particularly that officer with those crucial injuries,” she said. | “We have such gratitude for you coming in and helping those officers who were injured, particularly that officer with those crucial injuries,” she said. |
| “These are really life-saving events that took place by them and we are so thankful.” |