Melbourne police officer flung into the air as he tried to arrest ice and GHB drugged up driver

Dramatic moment a police officer is flung through the air trying to stop a Gucci-clad drugged up driver – as a judge calls for penalties to match those for drink drivers

  • Dramatic footage of a tense Melbourne police pursuit was released on Friday
  • It showed police trying to arrest Jahdon Tamati, 32, in 2020 after he did a runner 
  • Officers tussled with the drug driver during Melbourne’s stage four lockdown
  • It ended when one of the officers was hurled into the air onto a parked car 
  • Tamati pled guilty to 11 charges, including drug driving and unlicensed driving
  • Judge Geoffrey Chettle said penalties for drug-affected driving has to change

A police officer was sent flying through the air as he tried to arrest a drugged up driver who reversed his stolen Range Rover into three cars in shocking footage. 

Jahdon Tamati, 32, was high on ice and GHB when he tried to flee from police in August 2020 at the height of Melbourne’s stage four lockdown. 

Police were seen chasing Tamati to a car before First Constable Laken Lanza and her partner, Senior Constable Ben Ellison grab a hold of the doors to get Tamati out. 

Senior Constable Ben Ellison launches into the air after Tamati reverses into a line of cars (pictured) 

The constable lands (pictured) onto a parked car before Tamati speeds off

The constable lands (pictured) onto a parked car before Tamati speeds off 

Bodycam footage revealed the officers trying to grab the Gucci and Adidas-clad thug as he desperately tried to shake free and drive off.

Footage of the incident shot from a nearby building shows Senior Constable Ellison being hurled onto a parked vehicle after the driver sped backwards. 

Tamati pleaded guilty to 11 charges on Friday, including assaulting police, drug and unlicensed driving and failing to comply with health orders. 

His drug levels put him at 21 times the risk of having an accident, the court heard. 

County Court judge Geoffrey Chettle called for a need to change penalties for drug-affected drivers to make them in line with drink drivers, the Herald Sun reported. 

‘It just amazes me that you can go to jail for alcohol driving but not for being full of speed and meth,’ Judge Chettle said as he presided over Tamati’s hearing. 

‘Some time or other the government’s got to get around to changing that provision in relation to drug driving to make it the same as alcohol driving.’ 

He said the maximum penalty for a first-time drug driver was a $2,219 fine, while a first-time drunk driver copped a $3,698 fine, under the Road Safety Act. 

A witness captured phone vision of the two police officers in a scuffle to get the drug driver out of the car. 

The pair had approached him earlier when Tamati was with a friend, who had been released from prison and wasn’t wearing a face mask as per the rules.

They realised Tamati was wanted for an alleged crime before he made a break to the stolen car in a dramatic police chase. 

New police body cam vision shows Tamati resisting the police (pictured) as they tried to get him out of the car (pictured) in a vicious scuffle

New police body cam vision shows Tamati resisting the police (pictured) as they tried to get him out of the car (pictured) in a vicious scuffle

Body cam footage showed the pursuit and a tense scuffle as the officers caught up with him at the car and tried to pull him out. 

Senior Constable Ellison was then flung on to a parked car as the Range Rover reversed before speeding off – leaving the officer with forearm and hip injuries. 

The police caught up with Tamati and took him into custody, where they found a knife in the waistband of his tracksuit pants and other stolen items. 

Senior Constable Ellison made a full recovery. 

‘When you look at the video of this it’s lucky no-one was killed,’ Judge Chettle said.

Tamati’s 3.5g daily ice habit was linked to the death of his parents and he had written a letter to apologise to the police for his actions, the court heard. 

Judge Chettle said he remembered Tamati when he sent him to jail for kidnap and torture a decade earlier. 

Tamati will be sentenced on August 31 and could face 10 years in jail for exposing a police officer to risk. 

The Range Rover used by Tamati (pictured) to try and get away from police in 2020

The Range Rover used by Tamati (pictured) to try and get away from police in 2020

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk