A man allegedly seen swapping number plates sparked a police chase on the streets of Sydney involving gunshots and an officer being flung off a car.
The two men have now been arrested but three officers were in hospital with reports one had hurt a shoulder and other minor injuries.
The chase started at a park in Sydney when police spotted a man swapping the number plates on a vehicle. Police tried to stop the man and his passenger but were not successful. They abandoned the chase due to safety concerns but engaged again once they saw the dangerous behaviour of the driver.
“[The car] crossed onto the wrong side of the road, it drove onto footpaths and put the community at risk,” acting assistant commissioner David Waddell told 9News.
“As a result of that, police made the decision to stop that vehicle and it was during that stop a police officer was thrown across the front of a police vehicle and a number of shots were fired at that point in time,” Waddell said.
A 21-year-old man got out of the car and was arrested before the driver, also 21, drove off again, resulting in another chase.
The driver continued towards a highway where police performed a “high-risk vehicle stop”, ramming two police units into the car. He was tasered and arrested.
The driver was taken to hospital complaining of soreness to his neck, which police said was consistent with injuries sustained from his driving.
Serious charges are expected to be laid, with Waddle saying the men are “known to police.”
Several roads in the area were closed while police gathered evidence, and CCTV footage from the area is being reviewed.
SHARE ME