Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
A man is facing serious charges, including allegedly strangling a police dog unconscious and endangering transport, after he led police on a "dangerous" chase from the CBD to Avondale, before fleeing on foot when he got his car stuck on train tracks.
The 31-year-old Whanganui man - who was earlier disqualified from driving - will appear in the Auckland District Court on Monday facing nine charges including injuring a police dog and endangering transport.
Senior Sergeant Dave Plunkett told the Herald the charges came after a "dangerous 20-minute-long event".
At 12.10am on Sunday, police signalled a Nissan Cube station wagon to stop on Waterloo Quadrant in Auckland's CBD.
The driver fled.
The Herald understands he entered the Northwestern Motorway at Stanley Street in Parnell.
Police deployed the Eagle helicopter to track the vehicle, which exited the motorway at St Lukes Road in Mt Albert.
He turned down a dead-end street and reversed into a parked vehicle as he tried to evade police.
The Nissan then travelled to St George's Road in Avondale and the driver turned onto the railway tracks.
He got stuck after about 100 metres, got out of the car and ran off.
A police sergeant and dog handler were soon at the scene and confronted the driver.
A source claimed he "took a swing" at the sergeant and the dog was deployed.
The man allegedly "began choking it to the point of unconsciousness".
"The short-lived but dangerous incident culminated with the dog's handler and a sergeant rushing to its aid and freeing it from the alleged offender's grip," Plunkett said.
"The dog regained consciousness in time to help complete the arrest.
"The man was taken into custody at the scene and received medical treatment for bites to his leg and arms.
"The police dog was taken to the vet to be assessed, but thankfully suffered only minor injuries."
Plunkett said the incident was still under investigation but the man would appear in court today on charges including two counts of assaulting police, two counts of resisting police, dangerous driving, failing to stop, injuring a police dog, driving while disqualified and endangering the safety of rail employees and trains within a rail corridor.
The accused faces up to 14 years in prison on the charge of endangering transport alone.
Any person who kills, maims, wounds or otherwise injures a police dog can be jailed for up to two years and or fined up to $15,000.
- This story was originally published by the New Zealand Herald.