Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said police noticed a vehicle of interest leaving the area and signalled for it to stop.
Instead, it drove into the police vehicle and then into two other police vehicles that had arrived to help.
A vehicle belonging to a member of the public was also struck. Fortunately, the person was not injured.
A man then tried to flee on foot but was caught about 5.45pm.
Parnell said three police vehicles were significantly damaged, and five police staff suffered minor injuries in the collisions.
A man appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court this morning charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, failing to stop, assault with a blunt instrument, disorderly behaviour and reckless driving.
The 49-year-old, who has interim name suppression, limped into the courtroom this morning, apparently with a wound to his right leg. He had blood on his calf, heel and shorts.
He applied for bail, which was opposed by police.
A Justice of the Peace remanded the man to reappear in court later this month. He granted bail on a 24-hour curfew. No pleas have been entered.
The incident comes just a few months after Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming was killed in a ramming incident while carrying out a patrol on New Year’s Eve. Her colleague was also injured in the incident, and a man has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder.
“Our staff go to work every day to help make our communities safer, and behaviour such as this where police staff and vehicles are targeted is unacceptable,” Parnell said after this week’s incident.
“I am incredibly proud of the work from our staff in this quick-moving event where a vehicle was used as a weapon against police, creating a massive risk to the safety of everybody involved.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
