Hour-long police pursuit ends in tasering, police dog and arrest

A man has been arrested after a one-hour police pursuit that involved two sets of road spikes, a stolen rental car, tasering and a police dog.

At about 4.20pm on Saturday, police received reports of a man driving dangerously in the Waikari area, on SH7, Canterbury.

"Many motorists called police about his manner of driving, which included passing on blind corners, passing on double yellow lines, speeding and tailgating," said Inspector Hirone Waretini, of Christchurch police.

Police found the man and signalled him to stop but he failed to do so.
He then led police along SH7 and on to SH1 for nearly half an hour.

His car was spiked near the Waipara township but although his tyres deflated, he continued to drive south for a further 8km.

He eventually came to a stop near Amberley.

"He then got out of the vehicle with a baseball bat, threatened a parked motorist who was a tourist to New Zealand and stole his rental vehicle," said Waretini.

The driver then drove the stolen vehicle away from police.

This stolen car was later spiked in Tulls Rd.

With the tyres deflated, the driver continued to drive another 11km on the rims before finally stopping in Revells Rd, Tuahiwi.

He then got out of his car, again brandishing the baseball bat, and threatened police.

This time, he was tasered and finally subdued with the help of a police dog.

The chase lasted nearly an hour.

After being arrested, the offender was given medical treatment.

"The stolen rental vehicle sustained significant wheel rim damage but thankfully no members of the public or police staff were injured in this violent driving episode," Inspector Waretini said.

"This manner of driving is complete madness at this time of the year, or at any time of the year, and could have caused a great deal of carnage on our road if we had not stopped him."

The man, 29, will appear in court on Monday, January 1, and will face serious charges including aggravated robbery, assault with a weapon and driving charges.