A critical incident has been declared after a man suffered serious injuries following a confrontation with police at Kempsey yesterday.
About 9.50pm (Wednesday 21 July 2021), officers attached to Mid North Coast Police District attended a license premises on York Lane, Kempsey, following reports a man wanted on outstanding warrants was present at the venue.
When police entered the venue, the 29-year-old man fled the scene and a foot pursuit commenced.
A short time later, officers terminated the pursuit after losing sight of the man.
With the assistance of the Dog Unit, police located the man in a car park on Savages Lane, Kempsey.
The man again fled on foot by climbing a wall and running across a roof, before he fell through a shade cloth structure to the ground.
Officers immediately rendered first aid to the man until NSW Ambualnce paramedics arrived, and took him to Kempsey District Hospital with serious head injuries.
The man was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital where he remains in a serious condition.
An officer was also taken to hospital for treatment.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.
A critical incident team from an independent police area command will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The investigation will also be subject to independent review.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
