UPDATE AT 5.30 PM
A man has been charged over the alleged assault of two people and resisting and assaulting two police officers at Tamworth.
Just after 10 am, officers from Oxley Police District responded following reports a man had assaulted two people at a department store in Bridge Street, Tamworth.
Police were told the man became aggressive over stock unavailability and threw boxes of tissues at a female staff member and walked off.
When a female customer approached the man, he allegedly grabbed her around the throat before another customer assisted her. No injuries have been reported.
The man then left the store and purchased items from a supermarket, where police approached him.
As officers attempted to arrest the man, he allegedly resisted and tried to put one of the officers into a headlock and grasped at another officer’s service firearm.
After police deployed a taser to affect the man’s arrest, he was taken to Tamworth Police Station, where NSW Ambulance paramedics treated him as a precaution.
The 50-year-old man was charged with two counts each of common assault, resist officer in the execution of duty and assault officer in the execution of duty.
He has been refused bail to appear at Tamworth Local Court on Friday. Inquiries are continuing
THURSDAY AT 3 pm
A man has been tasered during an arrest at a Tamworth shopping centre, following an argument reported to be over toilet paper.
A NSW Police spokesperson said officers from Oxley Police District had arrested a man over an alleged assault in Tamworth today.
Just after 10 am on Thursday, police were told a 50-year-old man began to argue with a staff member and another customer before he assaulted them at a department store in Bridge Street.
Officers attended, and, during the man’s arrest, he was tasered.
He was then taken to Tamworth Police Station, where he is assisting police with their inquiries.
Reports on social media claim the alleged altercation was over toilet paper in the store, as stocks run out because of concerns about coronavirus.
However, police have not confirmed this.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the recent increase in coronavirus cases was concerning but encouraged people not to panic.
She added that there were no issues with toilet paper supply in NSW and urged the public to refrain from bulk-buying at supermarkets.
Woolworths has applied a quantity limit on toilet paper packs to ensure more customers have access to these products.
The purchase limit of four packs per customer transaction will apply in-store and online.