A police officer has been treated for facial injuries after being assaulted by a man with a weapon in Belfast city centre.
Two officers were injured after responding to a report of an attempted bicycle theft in the Castle Street area shortly before noon on Thursday.
A PSNI spokesperson said a man in his 40s was “armed with a weapon and was acting in an erratic and aggressive manner”.
“Two officers were injured when they approached the suspect – one of whom required hospital treatment for facial injuries,” the spokesperson said.
“Both of these officers were unable to remain on duty. Assaults on police and emergency staff are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated as simply being ‘part of the job’.”
The man was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including assault on police, going equipped for theft and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.
He remained in custody on Thursday evening.
“We are appealing to anyone who may have been in the Castle Street area during the time-frame of this report, and witnessed what happened to make contact with police on 101, quoting reference number 593 05/09/24,” the spokesperson added.
