By ANEEKA SIMONIS
A SENIOR Pakenham police officer has come out saying the local policing unit refuses to be intimidated by thugs out to hurt on-duty officers following the fiery, targeted attack on the 24/7 station over the weekend.
CCTV footage captures a man with his face turned to the floor, covered by a black cap throwing a lit Molotov cocktail at the police station doors in the early hours of the morning on Saturday 12 March.
He does so after passing the first set of doors, but is blocked from further accessing the precinct by a second set of security doors.
The attacker who throws the firebomb at the glass doors, which become fully ignited by the flames before he flees on foot.
The botched attack, likely intended to injure on-duty officers or cause further fire damage to the police building has done little to deter local police officers from getting on with their job, according to Senior Sergeant Nathan Prowd.
“If the motivation behind it was to intimidate us so we do not perform our role in the community, then that person is sadly mistaken,” he said.
“We will continue to take a strong stance on crime.”
Five police officers were reportedly inside the station at the time of the 12.50am attack.
All were uninjured by the attack, and were responsible for putting out the flames.
The police-targeted attack came less than 24 hours after media reports revealed a member of a violent outer south-eastern gang had made direct threats to shoot a detective from the Southern Metro area.
A poster displayed at Dandenong police station warned officers that an Apex gang member or his partners, linked to a string of aggravated armed burglaries, car thefts and riots, could launch a shooting attack on the building.
It is thought they wished to target a female detective responsible for several arrests involving gang members in recent times.
The threats were first allegedly levelled against the female detective while she was at lunch with her partner about 10 weeks ago.
The Pakenham station firebomber is perceived to be Caucasian in appearance, with a medium build.
At the time of the incident he was wearing a black hooded top and tracksuit pants.
The assailant is yet to be located.
Under the Victoria Police anti-terror policy released last year, stations across the state are being fitted with improved security screens in addition to other safety improvements including “two-up” patrol requirements.The security screen rollout is currently underway, with Pakenham police station yet to be fitted with the screen.
Anyone with any information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
