An Australian man is in an induced coma in hospital after a confronting encounter with police.
Police were following the 32-year-old through the Victorian suburb of Epping last week when he was allegedly struck by a cop car. Videos posted on to social media also allegedly show an officer stomping the man in the face when he's on the ground.
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In one of the clips, a person can be heard saying: "Am I witnessing this? What the f***. That is f***ed up."
It took up to six officers to subdue the father-of-three and their foot pursuit of him on Wednesday was said to be due to a 'highly dynamic incident'.
His family say the man spent a day in hospital looking for help with his bipolar disorder. After not receiving treatment, he asked to leave and the hospital called police, according to 7News.
He ran into stationary traffic and allegedly damaged a police car before he was taken to the ground and arrested.
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Victorian Police have released a statement saying: "During the highly dynamic incident a police officer was assaulted and OC spray was deployed before the man was arrested and subsequently taken to hospital for assessment.
"Upon arrival the male allegedly became aggressive and damaged a police vehicle while attempting to avoid arrest."
Victoria Police say the incident will be investigated by the Professional Standards Command.
However, the man's family are disgusted with the way that he was taken into custody. The 32-year-old's father told 3AW Radio that he couldn't sleep after seeing the vision of the dramatic arrest.
"It could've killed him," Glen said. "These people need to be held to justice and [be] accountable.
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"You think you're safe with police but when you see stuff like that... that's like some crap you'd see from America."
His family aren't allowed to see Tim in hospital due to coronavirus restrictions but they've been told scans are underway to determine whether the man has suffered any serious injuries during the arrest.
Robinson and Gill principal lawyer Jeremy King will be representing him and say the way the situation unfolded was not up to standard.
"Really he's a person that the police should be dealing with in a very unique way," he said. "They should be recognising that he's a vulnerable person and this isn't a situation...where police are pursuing an offender.
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"I would be fairly confident to say that in the Victoria Police manual regarding their approved tactics, you're not allowed to ram somebody with a vehicle and you're certainly not allowed to stomp on their head."
Mr King wants an independent investigation to be done into the incident to ensure that it's completed 'objectively'.
Featured Image Credit: Reddit