Inspector Marty Ruth, Whangarei Area Commander:
A person is in custody following a serious incident this morning in Whangarei.
At around 10.30am, Police were notified after a man had grabbed a woman out of her vehicle on Kamo Road.
The woman, who was not known to the offender, was struck in the face by the man who fled in her vehicle.
A few minutes later the stolen vehicle was spotted by Police officers.
A short pursuit was initiated for less than a minute before the offender made a U-turn and crashed into a following
police vehicle on Riverside Drive.
The offender has then decamped on foot and has been chased a short distance by officers where has had attempted to
carjack a second vehicle on Riverside Drive.
An officer has caught up with the offender and in the process of trying to stop the offender the officer has sustained
injuries to one of his fingers.
The offender has then been quickly apprehended at the scene by additional police officers.
The injured officer will be receiving medical treatment, while the female victim received minor injuries and was not
transported to hospital.
A 21-year-old has been arrested and is likely to face a number of charges in relation to this incident.
He was not injured during this incident, but is being transported to hospital as a precautionary measure to be assessed.
This was an alarming incident involving a brazen offender and I want to acknowledge the actions of staff who were able
to act quickly to apprehend the offender and resolve the incident without further harm being caused to the public.