An investigation will be launched into whether two men who tried to ram a junior officer with a car have links to organized crime gangs.
The officer shot at the car as it sped away following a confrontation in an underground car park in the St Peters unit block in Sydney’s inner west.
Police were called to the Princes Highway unit block following reports of a break and enter at around 1.15am on Sunday.
When police approached the two men, they got into a white Volkswagen Golf and attempted to flee.
When police attempted to stop the car, the vehicle drove directly toward an officer, coming within “close proximity” before the officer fired a single shot at the car.
After speeding away from the scene, the car was found on fire in an underground car park in Harris St Pyrmont.
He then quickly left the place.
Police do not know if one of the men in the Volkswagen Golf was hit when the officer fired his firearm.
“It’s very challenging to be run over and it’s not a pleasant time to fire a firearm for any officer,” Acting Detective Superintendent Ben Kennis, commander of Interior West Police Area Command, told reporters.
Following the confrontation, the vehicle, which bore plates reported stolen, was involved in a brief chase in Rozelle, before being found burnt out in an underground car park in Harris St Pyrmont, around 2.7km from Rozelle.
More than 100 residents were forced to evacuate the complex.
Firefighters extinguished the fire within an hour.
Two crime scenes have been established at the St Peters and Pyrmont site, and the Volkswagen Golf was checked by forensic experts.
No injuries have been reported.
Acting Detective Superintendent Kennis could not confirm whether the two men were known to police at the time, but said possible links to organized crime would be investigated.
“That will certainly be a line of research that we will pursue.”
“It is very challenging to be knocked down and it is not a pleasant moment for any officer to discharge a firearm,” said Detective Acting Superintendent Ben Kennis, commander of Inner West Police Area Command.
“At this time the identity of the criminals is unknown, so there is no information in relation to links to organized crime, but that will certainly form part of the investigation,” he said.
He said officers at the scene had “acted on their suspicions” when confronted.
“They asked them to stop, and when they ran away that’s when the police chased them,” he said.
Detective Acting Superintendent Kennis said police could fire his firearm in circumstances where they believe there is a threat to his life.
He said, “We will speak to the officer who fired his weapon and those details will come to light in the investigation.”
He also said he had spoken to the agent.
‘I spoke to that police officer this morning and they are doing pretty well.
‘(They) haven’t gotten much sleep, but I hope that with a little sleep and some exercise they will feel a lot better.
“But we will support that officer and give him a lot of support.”
He said the alarm was raised by a resident of the St Peters unit block after two men were seen acting suspiciously.
“The lobby window of the unit block was broken upon arrival,” he said.
“We are not sure if they managed to get into that block of units, however at this time nothing was stolen.”
Police have urged anyone with information, CCTV footage or dashcam footage to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
