A 22-year-old man will appear in court today after a police officer was injured when she was dragged by a patrol car stolen from an alcohol checkpoint in Christchurch.
Police said the man had his keys confiscated after failing a breath alcohol test at the checkpoint on Buchanans Rd near Hornby about 11.30pm on Saturday, and a short time later drove off in an unmarked police vehicle.
A female officer who tried to stop the man was dragged along the road for about 10m, suffering a cut to her head and leg and ankle injuries. She was treated in hospital and discharged early on Sunday morning.
The car was abandoned a short distance away, and a man was arrested at his home in Papanui late yesterday morning.
The 22-year-old was due to appear in Christchurch District Court this morning facing charges relating to assault, unlawfully taking a car, and various driving charges due to the status of his licence and level of intoxication.
Meanwhile, Canterbury road policing manager Inspector Al Stewart said there would be a review of practices around the security of patrol cars at alcohol checkpoints, with the weekend incident forming part of the process.
Mr Stewart said it was not clear if the keys had been left in the car, but that it was standard practice for police at checkpoints to leave themselves access to a car in case they had to chase someone who failed to stop.
