Man charged with assaulting Sydney police

Two Sydney police officers have been assaulted by a man in a pink dress they were trying to arrest after reports he was trying to take wallets from people at a Surry Hills shopping centre.

It's alleged he kicked the male officer in the groin and hit the female officer in the head with a can of butane gas during the incident at Redfern on Wednesday evening.

The female officer needed stitches for the wound.

The man's been charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest and will appear in court on Thursday.