Moment trio knocks out Cairns cop is streamed on Facebook Live
A police officer was knocked unconscious on Tuesday by a group of men in Cairns in a wild brawl that was broadcast live over Facebook.
Thousands of people watched Jonathan WM O’Connor’s video as violence broke out between Queensland police officers and at least three men on the city’s Esplanade at about 7pm.
“Coppers are getting bashed here,” a voice in the video can be heard saying.
“Coppers are getting bashed around here on the Esplanade.”
The same voice later says, “Hey, pepper spray. Right in the eye. Get away.”
A spokesperson for Queensland Police said a constable was taken to the Cairns Base Hospita with multiple abrasions after the group knocked him to the ground, rendering him unconscious.
He was in a stable condition on Wednesday morning and awaiting further scans.
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Queensland Police said the 28-year-old officer had approached the group at about 7pm after they had been moved on following a disturbance at a nearby licensed premises.
“The officer was then allegedly surrounded by the group who began to assault him, causing him to fall to the ground,” police said in a statement.
“The men allegedly continued to assault the officer, knocking him unconscious.”
A 20-year-old Edge Hill man, a 22-year-old Brinsmead man and a 21-year-old man, also from Brinsmead, were arrested and charged with serious assault police causing bodily harm and wilful damage of police property.
The video shows a group of men appearing to surround the male officer while his partner circles the group in an effort to intervene, before deploying her pepper spray.
The three men were arrested afterwards on Abbott Street. The Facebook video has so far been viewed tens of thousands of times.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
