Police officer critically injured while deploying road spikes to stop fleeing driver
A young police officer was critically injured after being struck by a stolen vehicle driven by teenagers attempting to avoid road spikes. The officer remains in the hospital while the two suspects are in police custody.
Why it matters
The incident underscores the dangers faced by law enforcement during high-stakes traffic interventions and raises concerns about youth involvement in violent crime.
A police officer who was critically injured when he was struck by a car driven by teens aged 14 and 15 as they tried to avoid road spikes is a young dad who only graduated in December 2024, a police boss said.
Central District Commander Superintendent Dion Bennett told media the officer – who is still on a ventilator in Wellington Hospital with family at his bedside – was “a fantastic young man”.
The policeman and a second officer were struck just after 2am when the teens – who’d fled after failing to pull over for police on Amberley Ave, but weren’t being chased – swerved to avoid the spikes on Kairanga Bunnythorpe Rd near Palmerston North and “shunted a police car out of the way” before striking the two officers.
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