Victorian man who allegedly mowed down Helen Haines had been arrested in 2022 after hostile police standoff

The Victorian man who allegedly mowed down independent MP Helen Haines in a targeted attack on Monday had been arrested in 2022 after a hostile standoff with police in Wangaratta.

Footage of Brendan Nugent’s previous arrest emerged over the weekend and showed the then 39-year-old holding a garden stake while yelling at two officers.

“Now, you’re going to have to shoot me,” he is heard saying in the video obtained by Nine News.

Before adding “you’re going to have to kill me”.

The Tarrawingee man had fallen to the ground shortly after police deployed capsicum spray in his face and tasered him.

He was taken into custody and transferred to the hospital at the time but was later released without charges.

The confrontation came after police had responded to a report of a man loitering outside a Wangaratta home.

Mr Nugent, who is now aged 43, remains in custody with three charges linked to Monday’s allegedly deliberate attack on Dr Haines.

The three separate charges include dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.

The 65-year-old Independent MP remained in a serious but stable condition in Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital after her left leg was amputated on Monday followed by her right on Wednesday.

Dr Haines had been collecting items from the boot of her politically-branded car parked in front of her Wangaratta electorate office when Mr Nugent allegedly twice rammed her.

He had been driving a Toyota LandCruiser at the time and was pulled from the driver’s seat by bystanders.

The Prime Minister will lead well-wishes in the House of Representatives from 10am on Monday — a week on from the incident — followed by statements from members and senators from across the political spectrum.

Victoria Police’s Security Investigation Unit is leading the probe into the incident, supported by the Victoria Joint Counter Terrorism Team.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said authorities were still investigating the motive and wouldn’t speculate future while the matter was going through the courts.

She, however, acknowledged gaps in regional mental health care in an interview with ABC’s Insiders on Sunday but reiterated that investigations were continuing.

“There has been media reporting around his mental health, around some of the causes or issues that he has aligned himself with. That all remains part of the ongoing investigation,” she said.

“That does sometimes form part of what we are seeing in terms of motivation or how people are looking to express their views.”

When asked whether a lack of mental health services was making policing more difficult, the Australian Federal Police chief acknowledged it was a challenge facing her officers.

“There are a number of elements that add to that that do make our job harder, yes. I would say that the environment in general, it’s febrile, it’s complex,” she said.

Ms Barrett said the AFP had regularly publicly outlined concerns about the growing threats against high office holders and undertaken measures to assist their safety.

It has included establishing National Security Investigations teams in October last year, which she described as a “flying squad of hate disrupters who focus on high-harm, high-impact politically motivated violence, communal violence and hate crimes”.

More than 40 people have been charged for offences relating to threats against federal parliamentarians and high office holders since it launched.

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