A Victorian man accused of flinging a police officer into the air as he fled in a stolen car while high on drugs will stand trial.
Jahdon Tamati, 30, has been accused of breaching Melbourne's stage four lockdown rules before fleeing police in a stolen Range Rover in August 2020.
He was originally charged with a string of offences including recklessly causing injury, exposing emergency workers to risk, assault, vehicle theft and unlicensed driving.
Tamati on Wednesday faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court, where his barrister Leighton Gwynn said the St Kilda man would plead guilty to the majority of his charges.
Police allege an officer was thrown onto other vehicles as he tried to stop Tamati driving away.
Constable Sean Clarke said Tamati was carrying a knife in his waistband when confronted by police.
The officer also said Tamati admitted he had taken drugs and appeared "heightened and absent-minded".
First Constable Laken Lanza described the incident as an "overwhelming and emotional experience".
"It was pretty scary ... we could have been severely injured or sustained life-threatening injuries," she told the court.
Detective Senior Constable Sam Spooner revealed that First Const Lanza and another officer discussed the incident as they walked back to Prahran police station together.
Mr Gwynn argued this could potentially result in the contamination of evidence.
"Yes, it is absolutely not ideal," Det Sen Const Spooner responded.
Magistrate Graham Keil committed Tamati to stand trial.
He will face Victoria's County Court for a directions hearing on July 1.
