A 55-year-old man at the centre of a standoff with police in Mullumbimby’s CBD during lunchtime yesterday will face seven traffic charges in court later this month.
They include driving while his licence had been cancelled and driving an unregistered vehicle.
Police say the man allegedly refused to get out of his car after being stopped for a routine traffic check in Stuart Street at around 1pm.
Police say they requested to see his licence but ‘the man allegedly claimed to not recognise local laws or police and refused’.
The man also refused to undergo a roadside breath test, despite several requests from police who’d pulled him over.
They say that when he was placed under arrest, he refused to alight from the car or unlock the doors and a large crowd gathered.
A police statement issued this morning said that when the man tried to start the vehicle, police struggled with him through the driver’s side window, which broke.
‘The passenger side window was also broken during the incident,’ the statement said.
The man, who had suffered minor lacerations, was eventually handcuffed and placed in the rear of the police van, taken to Byron Bay police station and charged with seven traffic offences.
The charges were: fail to supply information, refuse a breath test, drive while his licence was cancelled, not wearing a seat belt, resisting arrest, driving an unregistered vehicle and driving an uninsured vehicle.
He was granted conditional bail to attend Mullumbimby Local Court on 25 June.
The police officers suffered minor injuries which were treated at Byron Bay Hospital.
Inquires into the incident continue.
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