A 19-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly ramming a police car in the Auckland CBD on Saturday.
Police confirmed they received “a number of calls” shortly before 2:30pm about a driver near Queen St.
The driver first attracted attention for driving erratically in the downtown Auckland area, including on the footpath.
“Fortunately, no people were injured,” a police spokesperson said.
Police found the car on Customs Street East, but the driver rammed the front of a police car before taking off towards Fort Lane.
The police officers in the vehicle were not injured.
Police in the rammed vehicle caught up with the driver on foot and took him into custody.
The 19-year-oid is expected to face driving-related charges.
Siadin Ellis witnessed the driver speed through the intersection of Queen Street and Customs Street.
“It appeared as other motorists could see that his passenger was in distress so they quickly helped him out of the vehicle.
“The driver then escalated because of this and started driving through red lights and not even worrying about whether he’d hit the pedestrians crossing the road.
“His passenger was on the side of the street on the sidewalk at this point and the driver saw him and drove towards him almost hitting multiple people on the sidewalk.”
Ellis said when the police arrived the driver reversed and rammed into them before speeding away.
“It was definitely scary, from where I was standing I was safe but I was definitely worried about others crossing the street.”
His ratings have probably improved since the CCO reforms, says the mayor.