Police looking for driver of a car that fired two shots during pursuit

Armed police had to deal with two runaway offenders this week, with one seeing a fleeing fire shots into the air as police followed.

Northland police are looking for a driver who fired shots in the air during a pursuit through forestry roads near Kaitaia at about 9pm last night.

And in Whangarei, armed officers pointed guns at a fleeing driver before smashing his car window and dragging him out.

Detective Inspector Dene Begbie, acting district manager criminal investigations, said police attempted to stop a vehicle on State Highway 1 at Awanui, just north of Kaitaia last night.

The driver failed to stop and led police on a pursuit through forestry roads. Begbie said the chase was abandoned after two shots were fired into the air from the vehicle being chased.

The vehicle was located on Ninety Mile Beach the police Armed Offenders Squad was deployed but the driver could not be found.

He remains at large. Kaitaia police are seeking public help to locate a 2003 silver-coloured Ford Falcon, with registration BHR758.

"Our investigations continue and we are currently following strong lines of enquiry," Begbie said.

In the other incident, a 31-year-old Northland man wanted on an arrest warrant crashed into a police car while allegedly trying to flee.

A police patrol spotted the man on Heretaunga St, Tikipunga, about 5.30pm on Wednesday.

Additional police staff, including a dog handler, were called and the man was arrested and brought to the Whangārei police station.

He appeared in the Whangārei District Court todayon a charge of breach of release conditions and was remanded in custody to re-appear on August 1.

A witness to the arrest said he heard a noise after the car went over road spikes laid by police.

''Then I heard a big bang as the car smashed into a tree, then two police cars blocked him in front and back. But even then he was trying to reverse and go forward to try to escape, but they had really blocked him in,'' the eyewitness said.

''Three Glocks (police issue firearms) were then pointed at him and the police were telling him to get out of the car, but he didn't. So they smashed his window and dragged him out and a (police) dog gave him a mean chew. He was screaming in pain from the dog bites. It was a bit of entertainment in the neighbourhood.''

The man said he had seen a few incidents in his neighbourhood, but this was by far the most dramatic.