A protester who allegedly stabbed a NSW Police officer during a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney‘s Hyde Park has died in custody.
Okan Ozcan, 45, was found dead in his cell at Long Bay Correctional Centre on Tuesday morning.
He was on remand awaiting trial for a violent attack on Police Constable Elvis Poa on May 19 last year.
NSW Police confirmed Ozcan died in his cell in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
‘Around 7.30am on Tuesday 1 July 2025, emergency services were called to Long Bay correctional facility, after a 45-year-old inmate was found unresponsive in his cell.’
‘Corrective Services staff and NSW Ambulance paramedics attempted CPR, but he could not be revived.’ they said.
Authorities have confirmed that Ozcan’s death is not being treated as suspicious, but a formal investigation is underway.
Ozcan was facing four serious charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, armed robbery, and carrying a knife in a public place.
Okan Ozcan, 45, (pictured at the protest last year) was arrested shortly after the allegedly stabbing
Despite being injured, Constable Poa chased his alleged attacker into Hyde Park
Ozcan had been set to appear in court on July 15.
The alleged attack took place at around 1:15pm on a Sunday, as Constable Poa, 35, was conducting traffic duties at the intersection of Castlereagh and Park Streets, near Hyde Park.
According to police, Ozcan approached the officer from behind and stabbed him with a 30-centimetre kitchen knife, striking with such force that it fractured the officer’s skull in two places.
Despite the severe injury, Constable Poa and a female colleague pursued the alleged attacker down Park Street and into Hyde Park, repeatedly calling on him to drop the weapon.
Ozcan was eventually subdued with a Taser, taken into custody, and later hospitalized before being charged.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley spoke to Constable Poa on the night of the attack while he was recovering at St Vincent’s Hospital.
‘Every officer that I have spoken to that has been injured in the course of their day-to-day work has been so humble, and can I say last night’s conversation was no different,’ Ms Catley said.
She recalled asking Constable Poa: ‘How on Earth did you get up and chase that [alleged] perpetrator?’
Constable Elvis Poa, 35, (pictured) was on traffic duties near Hyde Park in Sydney when he was allegedly stabbed in the back of the head
He simply replied: ‘Because that is what I was trained to do.’
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb also acknowledged the bravery of the officers at the scene.
She noted that one of the constables involved had been replaying the incident in her mind, questioning whether she could have acted differently.
‘You did an amazing job and should be applauded for the way you reacted in the situation,’ Commissioner Webb reassured her.
