NSW: Two face court after officer injured

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NSW: Two face court after officer injured

By Krystyna Pollard

SYDNEY, April 20 AAP - Two men faced court today after a police officer was draggedby an allegedly stolen car in the Hunter Valley of NSW.

A 23-year-old man was charged overnight and a 22-year-old this morning after SeniorConstable Dave Dean from the Lower Hunter highway patrol was dragged by the car whileattempting to speak to its driver, a police spokeswoman said today.

Senior Constable Dean was one of three officers who followed the car shortly after7pm (AEST) last night at Neath, north-west of Newcastle.

The car stopped and the officer went to talk to the driver while his colleagues talkedto the passenger outside the vehicle.

Senior Constable Dean was then dragged a short distance by the car after it startedmoving off. He suffered spinal and leg injuries.

"(He) became wedged inside the vehicle," Sergeant Gerard Lawson of Newcastle policetold the Seven Network.

"The vehicle travelled up to 20 metres before the police officer actually fell from the vehicle."

He was airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital, where his condition tonight wasdescribed as "extremely satisfactory".

A 23-year-old man was charged with being illegally conveyed in a conveyance, whilethe 22-year-old alleged driver was charged with using a weapon to avoid apprehension,two counts of self-administering a prohibited drug, taking and using a conveyance, andbeing a disqualified driver, the police spokesman said.

Both men appeared in Maitland Local Court today and were remanded in custody until next week.

The incident follows the deaths of two highway patrol officers on duty in the past month in NSW.

Glenn McEnallay was fatally shot during a routine check of a stolen car in Sydney andChris Thornton, who was buried yesterday, died after his car crashed into a pole on theCentral Coast.

Police Minister Michael Costa said the latest incident was another reminder of therisks faced daily by police.

"I appeal to the community to continue the momentum that was built up around (SeniorConstable) Glenn McEnallay's death and support our police," he told reporters in Sydney.

AAP kp/wjf/sb

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