An extraordinary stand off in the Waikato River between a topless man and
police was only ended when a Taser stun gun was flown in by helicopter from
Auckland.
Waikato police won't be getting their own Tasers
for a couple of weeks yet, but see this as a classic example of the case in
favour of having them. They say it was the threat of a 50,000V jolt of
electricity that finally brought the violent offender to his
knees.
For three hours, he had managed to hold off 20
police on the banks of the river, waving sticks and hurling abuse whenever
anyone got near him.
Police say he is responsible for a
hit-and-run this morning which put a detective in hospital with broken ribs and
bruising.
It all began just after 8am when a female jogger
ran into a house, terrified, saying she was being
followed.
Police stopped a car a short time later, and
spoke to the driver. But when they tried to take away his keys he took off,
dragging the detective with him.
"The car has sped off
with the member still somehow attached to the vehicle," says Insp Karen
Henrikson. "[It] has dragged him a few metres where it has hit a
tree.'
"I heard a bang," says neighbour Andrew Campbell,
"and I saw the car over there and a person lying on the
ground."
Neighbours described the chaotic scene in the
moments after the crash. The policeman was on the ground bleeding, crying out
for help, while one local tried to chase after the driver of the car as he ran
off towards the river.
Cornered, he was still out of
pepper spray range and police did not want to risk dogs in the fast-flowing
river, so they flew down a Taser gun from Auckland.
The
man, who has 'Tuhoe' tattooed across his chest, will appear in court
tomorrow.
3 News