A man is set to be charged with a raft of weapons and drug offences following a dramatic arrest by plain-clothed police in a fast food drive-through in outer Darwin.
Social media footage of the arrest shows non-uniformed officers aiming guns into the window of a ute stopped at the Hungry Jack's drive-through in Coolalinga around 5.30pm on Thursday.
NT Police say they were targeting a 30-year-old man who had allegedly threatened people at a home in Palmerston with a crossbow and shotgun on Thursday morning.
Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Day said the serious crime unit became aware that the man had breached parole conditions by failing to undergo a drug test two days earlier.
"The man in question came into possession of a stolen Toyota Hilux and his behaviour escalated from then," Senior Sergeant Day said at a press conference on Friday.
He said the man first went to the home in the Palmerston suburb of Gray on Thursday and assaulted residents with a crossbow, before returning about an hour later with a shotgun.
He later clarified that the man had "brandished" the crossbow but said the occupants of the home were not struck or injured.
"A joint police operation commenced as a result of those actions utilising the Tactical Response Group (TRG) and the dog operations unit, serious crime detectives and general duties police," Senior Sergeant Day said.
"A plan was then implemented to apprehend that particular individual as safely as possible.
"This was deemed a high risk operation due to the presence of the weapons."
He said the man was then seen allegedly driving "dangerously and erratically" about midday on Thursday.
An attempt by the TRG to make an arrest at around 4.30pm as the car refuelled at a northern suburbs service station failed, as the man dove into the back of the ute and was driven away.
Detective Senior Sergeant Day said the man was arrested when the car stopped at the Hungry Jack's drive-through about an hour later.
A 31-year-old man in the car was also arrested after being identified as an "active target" of the domestic violence unit.
Senior Sergeant Day said beanbag rounds, tasers and capsicum spray were used in the arrest.
Police allegedly then found a crossbow, a shotgun, knives and "drug paraphernalia" in the car.
Senior Sergeant Day said police expected to charge the 30-year-old with offences including aggravated assault, unlawful entry, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, firearms offences and drug offences.
Witnesses to the arrest told the ABC the plain-clothed police operation was "bloody scary" for bystanders.
"At first we didn't know what was going on, we just seen all the guns drawn, and then normal coppers came in," witness Darren Smith said.
"There were families everywhere."
Senior Sergeant Day said TRG officers were out of uniform at the time of the arrest, including one officer who was wearing a singlet with the Centrelink logo on it, in order to avoid alerting the alleged offender to the presence of police.
"They were in plain clothes because any activity involving obvious police escalated this person's behaviour and the erratic driving," he said.
