Two PSNI officers have been injured after their vehicle was deliberately rammed in south Armagh.
The incident happened in the Crossmaglen area shortly after 5.30am on Tuesday.
The officers’ vehicle was in the Cardinal O’Fiaich Square area when they spotted a “suspicious” black Volkswagen CC.
The driver of the car failed to stop upon being signalled to do so, and a short pursuit began.
The car then rammed into the side of the police vehicle in the North Street area, injuring the officers and also causing damage to a nearby parked vehicle.
The suspect car then made off in the direction of Carran Road.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Due to the dangerous manner in which it was being driven, other officers in the area were unable to safely continue the pursuit without posing significant risk to the public.
”We would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time, or who may have information on the whereabouts of the vehicle, which is likely to be bearing significant frontal damage, to contact us on 101 quoting reference 229 of 24/12/24.”
The spokesperson added: “This vehicle was, in effect, used as a weapon against our officers. It is unacceptable that those working to keep their community safe should be targeted in this way. We’re thankful that our colleagues don’t appear, at this stage, to have suffered significant injury, but the outcome could have been much worse.
“Those responsible should expect to be brought before the courts to face the consequences of their actions.”
The incident is the latest in which PSNI officers were injured in vehicle rammings.
Figures revealed earlier this month show that at least 58 officers were injured in 40 ramming incidents in 2024 up to November 30.
More than £400,000 has been spent on repairing police vehicles damaged as a result of being rammed in the past five years.
