A PSNI OFFICER withdrew his firearm because he “feared for his own safety” after the driver of a vehicle later abandoned in Donegal failed to stop for police.
On Saturday afternoon, PSNI officers in Derry spotted a vehicle, a black Mercedes 300, which is believed to have been involved in several collisions in the city over recent months.
The vehicle was spotted on Buncrana Road, close to the border with Co Donegal, at around 12.30pm.
The driver made off toward Derry city at dangerous speeds and with a deflated rear tyre.
A PSNI spokesperson said that in order to “minimise the risk to both the public and the driver, a pursuit was commenced by trained officers”.
The Mercedes collided with an uninvolved member of the public’s vehicle as the PSNI attempted to force the vehicle to stop, causing damage but no reported injury.
A stinger device was then deployed in the Creggan area in an attempt to bring the pursuit to a safe and controlled conclusion.
However, a PSNI spokesperson said that one officer, “fearing for his own safety, drew his weapon, but the driver of the Mercedes swerved and made off, narrowly avoiding another member of the public’s vehicle as he did so”.
As is standard procedure when a police firearm is drawn, the Police Ombudsman has been informed and their enquiries are ongoing.
The vehicle was found abandoned just over the border in Co Donegal minutes later.
The PSNI said the force is liaising with colleagues in An Garda Síochána “as we seek the driver, and are carrying out forensic testing of the vehicle”.
The PSNI has appealed to anyone with information, or relevant dashcam or mobile phone footage, to make contact.
“It is only by sheer luck that this vehicle was not involved in a more serious collision yesterday,” said a PSNI spokesperson