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Off-duty officer stops burglar smashing shop door with metal pipe in Budapest
An off-duty police officer prevented a burglary in Budapest’s District X (Kőbánya) after hearing suspicious noises in the early hours of the morning, Hungarian authorities have confirmed.
Off-duty officer hears strange noises at night
According to police reports, the incident took place at around 1 AM on 10 December, when a member of the Budapest Police Headquarters’ District X Police Department, who was spending his day off at home, was alerted by unusually loud banging sounds coming from within his apartment building. After stepping out into the corridor to investigate, he heard the noise again and quickly identified its source.
The man was smashing a glass door
The officer noticed a man on the ground floor attempting to smash the glass door of a small grocery shop using a metal pipe approximately one metre long. Realising that a crime was in progress, the off-duty detective immediately placed himself on duty, ordered the suspect to remain at the scene and called for police backup.
The suspect was intoxicated
Police said the suspect appeared to be intoxicated and ignored repeated attempts at verbal communication. Instead, he became aggressive and attempted to flee while shouting abuse. In order to prevent the man from escaping, the officer was forced to use physical restraint and held him at the scene until uniformed officers arrived.