A man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly brandished a knife at traffic management staff on an Auckland motorway and later police overnight.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward said the man threatened traffic management staff on the Southern Motorway near Takanini just after midnight.
He was later observed and tracked by the police Eagle helicopter driving "extremely recklessly" and reaching speeds of at least 180 kilometres per hour.
The man was not pursued by police.
He ended up driving all the way to Auckland Airport, Hayward said, where he drove into a security gate which leads onto the tarmac and ditched his vehicle.
Hayward said as officers approached the man, he brandished a knife at them as well.
He was Tasered and arrested, but not before one of the four police officers involved suffered an assault Hayward described as "nasty" and was punched in the face.
The officer suffered swelling and bruising as a result.
Hayward said the 46-year-old man is expected to appear in the Manukau District Court today on a number of charges.
These include aggravated assault, threatening to kill and driving offences.
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