Unprovoked attack lands officers in hospital
Two Gold Coast police officers had to be hospitalised after an ATV ramming on Sunday morning.
Gold Coast Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles said the officers were conducting patrols in an ATV in Kingsholme when they were targeted. Body worn camera footage shows white Isuzu MUX ramming into the ATV of two police officers, who were later sent to the hospital for their injuries. Credit: Gold Coast Bulletin
The officers' attention was drawn to a vehicle parked on the side of the road, which they thought looked a bit suspicious while driving towards the vehicle.
'A male and a female, alighted from a nearby area, got into that vehicle, and then deliberately rammed that ATV.
'The force of the collision was enough to push the ATV into the path of another vehicle, a third vehicle that was driving nearby.' Gold Coast Police Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles said the incident was 'a selfish act'. Alex Treacy Credit: News Corp Australia
The pair were taken to Pindara Hospital for treatment, have been discharged and will remain off work to recover from the whiplash caused by the incident.
Police are looking for the offending vehicle, a white Isuzu MUX with a wraparound bullbar, a black snorkel on the driver's side, and black mag wheels.
The number plates have been revealed to be fake after police checks, and it is unclear at this stage whether they were stolen or cloned.
Chief Superintendent Miles said that they don't know who the offenders are, and if they 'haven't got returned to prison warrants'.
'They've got real reasons to want to be away from police and get away,' he said.
'They didn't hang around to see if those officers were severely injured or not – it's all about them, it's a selfish act.
'They're willing to do this to police, ram police cars, they'll ram anyone. Anyone who's in their way is a problem for them, and that certainly is concerning as well.' Body worn camera footage captures the offending vehicle ramming into the police ATV on Sunday. Credit: Gold Coast Bulletin
The police ATV, which was worth $25,000, was written off in the crash with the intention to be replaced to continue patrols in the bushland isolated areas.
Chief Superintendent Miles is appealing in Kingsholme area between 11am and 12pm on Sunday with any CCTV and dashcam footage to come forward.
'These officers were just out there doing their job, being proactive, keeping their community safe, and this is what happens, they end up spending the afternoon in hospital,' he said.
'There used to be that fine line where police weren't targeted as much as members of the public, not anymore.
It's just a sad indictment of where we are with some members of the community, and that's why we're very keen to get them (offenders) into the watch-house.'
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