I saw this event happen firsthand. Start to finish. (well, not including the underground bit). Even came back to the office afterwards and was telling it to people, as this was the most exciting thing to happen on a very very slow day.
I was downstairs having a smoke (working on a public holiday type thing).
Saw the police cars drive up and block the street. Cops around, one in the middle of the road blocking traffic. Pitt St, just near Martin Place. More cops on the sidewalk stopping people walking past on both sides of the road. Maybe 10-20 people total, waiting on both sides of the road. Lots of guys in dark suits with earpieces near the driveway to the hotel.
Anyway, I'm leaning on the wall having a smoke when this starts to occur, shooting the sh1t with a hotel security guard. Motorcade comes along.
Then we see the guy in question, he's walking on the far side of the road towards the motorcade (approx 100m away and closing slowly).
Cops say to stop, the people around him do so (later to learn his kid and someone else). He walks around the cop like you'd walk around someone handing you a flyer. Cop turns and goes 'sir, sir!' and moves after him. Cop stops him and says something to him. Dude gesticulates wildly, and says something. then turns at like 90degrees and walks diagonally across the street deliberately. Cop is stunned for a half sec, then moves really quickly after him 'Sir , Sir' grabs the guys arm, and not quite forcefully walk him to the other side. Dude is yelling take your hands off me or something. Cop walks him into like a little alcove. Another cop comes over. Lots of cops standing around a little way away watching both him and the motorcade.
Cop is giving the dude a lecture. Dude is firey and answering back. No one else has moved.
A senior cop comes over. Asks the dude for his ID. Things seem to quieten down (Security guard and I have moved around, the pylon so we can still see. Maybe 15m, away).
First cop is still giving a lecture, I hear things like APEC and whatnot. Dude is clearly not happy, but looks under control. Motorcade comes and goes. People allowed to move. Kid and some other guy comes over and start watching from maybe 5m.
Dude seems to fire up again, waving his arms. Senior cop is talking now, I clearly hear him say 'Calm down'
All of a sudden Dude double handed pushes the first cop in the chest, like a shove before a bar fight. This changes everything.
First cop arm grabs the dude, turns him, armlock, bangs him up against the wall, not particularly hard, but it's not like the dude had a choice. Lots of yelling now. Cop goes 'right, that's it. Your under arrest'
Dude tries to kick out backwards. Cop and 2nd cop spin him round a half push half wrestle him to the ground. Cops are coming from everywhere now. Now it's a pile on. Maybe 6-8 cops piled on this dude, as he yells his guts out. People start to gather, dude with a camera is right there, like a metre from the pile on. They pick dude up and start to walk him away.
Some angry cop comes from the pack and starts yelling at people to move away, he wasn't mucking around , I got out of there.
This dude fully brought it on himself, I'm no real fan of the cops (thanks to being done speeding at 5.20am on the way to work), but they handled this well considering the tension in the air around APEC. Dude came across like a arrogant dick 'No politician motorcade is going to get in MY way' type of thing. I do feel sorry for his kid though, saw a whole bunch of cops jump on his old man then frogmarch him away. I read the news article just this morning, and am struck by the differences in what 'happened', and what I saw.
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