A Christchurch man has been arrested after a police car was stolen on Saturday morning.
The vehicle was stolen during an incident in Hoon Hay at 7.50am that morning; it was later found abandoned in St Albans at around 8.05am.
The 28-year-old's arrest comes after a number of search warrants were carried out this morning by police following the incident.
He now faces a number of charges and will soon appear before the court.
The vehicle that was stolen, a police dog handlers patrol car, had been responding to an incident in Hoon Hay.
"An [alleged] offender had been located and sustained a dog bite; however, he managed to evade arrest and entered the vehicle, which had been left running, using it to flee," a police spokesperson said on Saturday.
"The vehicle was pursued for a short time by other units. However, they lost sight of it."
"The officer's ID card was stolen, along with a petrol card; however, no other police items or equipment were taken," police said.
"The vehicle will now be towed and forensically examined."
During the incident, two patrol vehicles collided at the intersection of Straven Road and Rata Street, sustaining moderate damage, but no officers were injured.
The incident will be subject to a district review.
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