A homeless man who rammed a shopping trolley at a man who was threatening police with a knife is being hailed and rewarded for his actions, but he insists he is not a hero.
Michael Rogers emerged from a crowd of onlookers during the attack on Friday afternoon in downtown Melbourne, Australia, in which one person was fatally stabbed and two others wounded.
Social media users have dubbed Rogers “Trolleyman” and an online fundraiser for him by registered charity Melbourne Homeless Collective had raised more than A$100,000 (US$72,000) as of yesterday.
“Our hero is humble as can be and had no idea about this fundraiser,” the GoFundMe page reads. “He is amazing. We believe his efforts deserve a reward that can really help him out.”
In interviews with Australian media, Rogers, 46, has insisted he is no hero.
“I threw the trolley straight at him and I got him. I didn’t quite get him down, though. I’m no hero,” he told Channel Seven.
He also told Melbourne’s Age newspaper he had been on the wrong side of the law himself.
The paper reported that he had been “in and out of jail” for about 20 years, including a five-year sentence for aggravated burglary, and that he had had a long history of drug use.
“I haven’t had good experiences with police,” Rogers told the newspaper, adding that his move to help on Friday was a “spur of the moment” decision.
While Rogers won praise from the community, senior Victorian police officials were divided in their reaction.
Deputy commissioner Shane Patton said that Rogers’ help was appreciated by police on the scene.
“There’s no doubt he acted bravely,” he told ABC radio. “His assistance was greatly appreciated.”
However, later, Patton’s superior, chief commissioner Graham Ashton, said Rogers’ actions could have led to a tragic outcome.
“I don’t like to criticize people in that situation, he’s acting instinctively about what he’s looking at in front of him, but certainly if a trolley had hit a police member and knocked him over and then this offender was on top of him, it could have had a tragic consequence,” Ashton told Melbourne radio 3AW. “Luckily in this case, it didn’t.”
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