Teenager runs over police officer in Kingston while cop is firing his gun

A teen who stole a car and used it to run over a police officer while the officer was firing his gun has avoided detention because he has demonstrated rehabilitation since the 2017 incident.

Crystal Downs Drive, in Blackmans Bay, where an officer was run over by a teenager driving a stolen car in December 2017.

A TEENAGER who stole an unregistered car and used it to run over a police officer while the officer was firing his gun has avoided detention because he has demonstrated rehabilitation since the 2017 incident, the Supreme Court in Hobart has heard.

The man, who was aged 17 at the time of the crimes and cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Hobart today.

He previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, assaulting police, causing bodily harm to a police officer, assaulting police and related charges.

Chief Justice Alan Blow said the man had been at a party in Kingston on a December night in 2017 where he consumed a “large quantity” of alcohol and argued with his former partner and another man.

Police were called and took the man home, but he returned about 1am and took a car, without the owner’s permission, that was parked nearby.

The court heard he drove aggressively, refused to get out of the car, and unknowingly reversed into a man, pinning him against a steel picket fence, which collapsed.

The court heard police were called and they saw the man about 1.15am driving at 150km/h on Algona Rd, Kingston.

It was raining and the road was wet.

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Chief Justice Blow said the officers lost sight of the car but saw it again on Crystal Downs Drive at Blackmans Bay, which is a dead-end street.

Chief Justice Blow said police tried to stop the man driving from Crystal Downs Drive, but he drove directly at an officer standing on the road beside a police vehicle.

“He [the officer] fired a shot at him, and was simultaneously hit by the stolen vehicle. His body was lifted over the bonnet of the car. He unintentionally fired a second shot,” Chief Justice Blow said.

“He [the officer] is lucky that he was not killed or seriously disabled.”

The court heard the officer experienced a range of psychological symptoms and was diagnosed with post-traumatic anxiety.

Chief Justice Blow said one of the bullets hit the man, lodging under his skin on the right side of his head but not entering his skull, and had to be surgically removed.

The court heard the man, unaware he had been shot, crashed into the police vehicle and drove off, returning later.

“The injured officer was lying on the side of the road, and three officers were standing on the road.

“[The man] drove at the officers at high speed … One of the officers drew his firearm, pointed it at [the man], yelled at him to stop, and warned that he would shoot. [The man] braked heavily, skidded to a stop about 10 metres from the officers, reversed, turned the vehicle and drove away.”

Chief Justice Blow said the man returned to the party, where he was arrested.

The court heard the man had been committing crimes and being prosecuted in the Magistrates Court every year since he was 13.

Chief Justice Blow said it was clear from the man’s behaviour since his arrest that he had demonstrated rehabilitation had taken place.

He said since the arrest, the man had not been in contact with his old friends from the Kingston area and had stopped getting into trouble.

Chief Justice Blow said because the man was under the age of 18 on the night of the crimes, rehabilitation must be given more weight than any other individual matter.

Chief Justice Blow sentenced the man to 22 months’ detention, suspended for two years.

He is also required to perform 175 hours of community service, is subject to a youth probation order for two years and is disqualified from driving for 18 months.