A shopping centre security guard in northern NSW has been repeatedly punched in the face and head by a man stopped for not wearing a face mask indoors.
The guard approached and offered the man a mask before allegedly being hit in a Lismore shopping centre on Thursday, police said.
Nearby people who intervened were then allegedly punched in the face and chest themselves before police were called.
The accused aggressor, 22, allegedly then kicked a male senior constable in the face in the shopping centre and bit another officer while in Lismore police station.
He was refused bail to appear in Lismore Local Court on Friday on nine charges including assault occasion actual bodily harm and affray.
The man was also fined $1000 for failing to comply with the COVID-19 public health order.
As a result of the recent community transmission of coronavirus, face masks are required to be worn in all non-residential indoor areas in the Byron, Tweed, Ballina and Lismore local government areas.
Some exemptions apply.
