Three police cruisers were struck by a man driving a stolen car in downtown Toronto on Thursday night, police say.
The driver, who was arrested at the scene, reportedly had 70-plus criminal convictions to his name and was out on bail at the time.
The events that led to the dramatic incident began in the area of King and Jarvis streets, according to Toronto police, after officers identified a stolen vehicle with their automatic license plate reader.
Police said the officers spotted the vehicle and began to follow it. When it came to a stop at George and Britain streets, the officers tried to intercept it.
The driver allegedly tried to flee by ramming the police vehicles before they were eventually able to box the vehicle in and pin it to the wall of a nearby business.
The 32-year-old driver was arrested at the scene and charged with eight alleged offences, including theft of a motor vehicle and assault of a peace officer.
No one was injured but the accused was taken to hospital as a precaution, police said.
A large police presence could be seen in the area on Thursday evening, along with road closures, which have since ended.
The Toronto Police Association claimed the man arrested Thursday night had more than 70 previous criminal convictions.
Court records obtained by Global News also show that the man, George Sault, was out on $5,000 bail after being arrested in August in Brantford for a long list of charges, including driving while prohibited. One of the conditions of his release was that he not drive.
–with files from Global News’ Catherine McDonald