Auckland police incident: Cop car rammed in downtown drama

A woman standing on a footpath had seconds to dodge a car that mounted a cycle path and made a beeline for her during a terrifying rush hour ordeal in downtown Auckland.

Moments later the same vehicle was involved in a dramatic ramming of a police car after the driver was being stopped from leaving a nearby wharf.

Still shaken, the pedestrian said she had just got off a passenger ferry and was standing on the footpath at the lower end of Albert St when she saw a small car facing the wrong way stuck in a long queue of traffic.

The pedestrian, who did not want to be named, said the female driver was blaring her horn and swearing at people to get out of the way.

"I noticed her window was down and I said 'Hey calm down, you're in the wrong lane' and she went nuts.

"Then she tried to run me over.

"She drove across the cycle path and onto the footpath.

"It took a minute to register that she was steering towards me. I jumped to the side.

"If I hadn't moved she would have hit me."

The police car was extensively damaged. Photo / Nafeesa Ali

The woman, who was heading to work in the CBD, said the driver then quickly reversed and shot down the street towards the Hilton Hotel.

"It was frightening," said the woman, who was comforted by nearby pedestrians.

The blue Toyota rammed the police car during the incident. Photo / Nafeesa Ali

She said the area was packed with morning commuters at the time and everyone seemed stunned at what they were witnessing.

The worker then called police giving details of the car involved and within a few minutes the sound of sirens filled the area.

Another witness described watching a motorist driving the wrong way down Auckland's Quay St and ramming a police car.

The witness described seeing a driver in a blue car being chased by a police officer - on foot - near Princes Wharf.

The witness, who asked only to be named as Paul, said the officer had parked his police vehicle diagonally in a bid to block the blue car from leaving the Princes Wharf area.

The officer was outside his vehicle and yelling to the driver in the blue car to stop.

But instead of stopping the blue vehicle mounted the footpath to the entrance of Princes Wharf and took off up towards Hobson St.

"We thought that was it, but then [the driver] did a U-turn and drives into the driver's side of the police car - where the police officer had just got back in.

"He took a massive hit."

Police say the female driver of this car tried to run down a member of the public and then rammed a police vehicle.

Paul said immediately after the police vehicle was rammed, the driver of the blue car got out and appeared to crouch down behind the car.

"People [in the area] all ran away then."

Paul said he thought it was because it looked as if the driver was crouching down to pick something up.

The police officer, he said, managed to open the rammed-in door of his police vehicle and run towards the other side.

Police said a woman was arrested without incident at the scene and will now face charges.

Inspector Peter Raynes said police were called to a report that a vehicle was driving the wrong way in Quay St, near Princes Wharf, at 8.04am.

"The same vehicle allegedly tried to run over a member of the public.

"Police staff have quickly attended and have been on foot attempting to get the woman to get out of her vehicle, when she has driven off, done a U-turn and then driven back and deliberately run into the stationary police vehicle."

St John confirmed an ambulance crew was sent to the scene and treated one person with minor injuries.