"Man arrested following fleeing driver incident and stand-off in Weymouth"

Statement attributable to Senior Sergeant Matthew Child

A 39-year-old man has been arrested in Weymouth following a fleeing driver incident this morning and then seven-hours on the roof of a residential property.

Police had tried to stop the vehicle at around 10am however the driver fled and abandoned the vehicle a short time later.

A man from the vehicle then ran through a number of properties in the Weymouth area before climbing on the roof of a home and refusing to come down.

Responding officers tried to speak with the man to encourage him down and when this failed the Police Negotiation Team were deployed.

They spoke with the man for almost two hours however the man still refused to come down.

While the man was on the roof the home owners remained inside the property as it was unsafe to move them out of the house.

The homeowners were concerned about the escalating behaviour of the man on the roof and they are receiving ongoing support from Police and Victim Support.

Shortly before 5pm then man began to damage property on the roof and became aggressive to staff.

Due to this behaviour Police were forced to use tactical options to take the man into custody.

As is standard procedure the man received medical attention at the scene and was then taken into custody.

He will be appearing in Manukau District Court on Monday facing charges in relation to driving offences, assault, willful damage and threatening behaviour.

ENDS

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