Cop car rammer gets jail

A DANGEROUS driver with a penchant for stolen cars dragged two police officers after ramming their car with a ute.

The officers were clinging to the door and window frame of the stolen vehicle after Martin Potter-Walker reversed into their stationary patrol car at Babinda last July.

They had tried to remove the keys after blocking the street to prevent his escape.

But Potter-Walker, 26, would not surrender meekly and drove the ute into a concrete bollard after the officers leapt free.

He was eventually dragged from the ute, literally kicking and screaming despite copping a face full of pepper spray.

The day before he was cornered by officers, Potter-Walker led them on a high-speed pursuit that police were forced to abandon for safety reasons.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedwald told Cairns District Court the defendant drove into the path of other vehicles and forced several from the road.

She said Potter-Walker had a reputation as a car thief.

He started his most recent offending behind the wheel in June 2018, barely one month after he was disqualified from driving for six months.

He pleaded guilty this week to a swag of charges including assaulting police, unlawful use of a vehicle, dangerous operation of a vehicle and stealing.

Josh Trevino, defending, told the court his client had been in custody for most of the past nine years.

Judge Dean Morzone sentenced Potter-Walker to four years in jail, including time already served.

He disqualified him from driving for at least two years and declared him eligible for parole from November 5.