The incident unfolded in the early hours of this morning when police were called to help an ambulance crew dealing with an agitated person on Elles Road about 2.25am.
"While a police officer and an ambulance officer were speaking with a man in the back of the ambulance, he jumped into the driver’s seat of the ambulance and allegedly began driving.
"The vehicle travelled about a block before the police officer was able to knock it out of gear and stop it," a police spokesman said.
A 20-year-old Invercargill man was taken into custody after a brief scuffle.
He was due to appear in the Invercargill District Court today charged with two counts of kidnapping, driving while suspended, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, failing to stop and two counts of resisting police.
Relieving Southland Area Commander Inspector Matt Scoles said the incident could have been tragic.
“Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but there was a risk of serious injury to the people in that ambulance, none of whom were restrained, and a serious risk to the public.
“This was an unpredictable situation and both the police and ambulance officers involved acted swiftly, doing what they could to end it before anything worse happened.”
Hato Hone St John Southland operations manager Braden Stark said: ‘‘The two ambulance staff on board the ambulance were shaken from the ordeal but uninjured.
‘‘Police were quickly on the scene to apprehend the offender. Hato Hone St John is providing support to our people and will assist the police in its enquiries.’’ - APL
