A police officer has been left seriously injured after being mowed down by his own patrol car while trying to arrest a suspected thief.
West Midlands Police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon.
A spokesman for the force said the traffic cop had traced a suspected stolen Range Rover to a street in the Moseley area after it had been taken from a woman on a shopping trip just minutes earlier.
But as he moved in to arrest the man he was violently assaulted and punched to the ground.
The suspect then jumped behind the wheel of the PC’s patrol vehicle and ran over the officer as he lay on the floor.
He escaped the scene in the marked police car, before abandoning it about a mile away and trying to steal another car.
But before he could, the man was cornered by police – including armed officers – and Tasered before being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
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West Midlands Police Asst Chief Constable Sarah Boycott, said: "This is a shocking attack in which a member of our police family has been seriously hurt while trying to detain a crime suspect.
"I’m heading to the hospital now to get an update on his condition and offer whatever support I can to him and his family.
"Attacks on our officers and staff won’t be tolerated and we will always seek the toughest possible criminal justice outcome for offenders."
A later tweet from the force added: "We've arrested a 29-year-old man, from Hall Green, on suspicion of the attempted murder of a police officer. A 24-year-old man has also been arrested for car theft. Our officer is undergoing surgery this evening. Our thoughts are with him and his family."
