Bluff cop disarms ex-soldier in early morning patrol search
A Brighton Beach policeman on patrol wrestled an armed man on Tara Road.
WHILE patrolling the Bluff in the early hours of Friday, 29 August a Brighton Beach police officer ended up in a fight for his life with an armed ex-South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member.
With early morning housebreakings on the rise on the Bluff, Brighton Beach police officers were conducting patrols throughout the suburb, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jason McGray.
At about 3am detective services’ Warrant Officer Brad Varley stopped to question a man walking along Tara Road towards Grosvenor Boys. While W/O Varley was attempting to search the man, he turned his back on the W/O and appeared to be reaching for something tucked into the front of his trousers.
Realising the danger, W/O Varley grabbed hold of the man and the two grappled with each other as the man pulled out a gun. “It was either him or me,” said W/O Varley as he recalled the struggle. As they fought, Lt Col McGray arrived and intervened. Together they subdued the man and recovered his 9mm Norinco pistol, which already had a round in the chamber and 53 rounds of ammunition.
“For some unknown reason Lt Col Jason McGray arrived just in time – he’s my guardian angel from now on.”
The 52-year-old ex-SANDF Lance Corporal was arrested for possession of a firearm without a license and two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition. Investigations revealed the gun had been reported stolen in Mayville in 1999.
