A 22-year-old man is charged with injuring Christchurch police officer Sarah Lurajud - who made headlines as New Zealand's first transgender cop in 2007 - when she tried to stop him stealing a patrol car. Injured: Constable Sarah Lurajud Constable Lurajud was pulled about 10 metres by the car, with an eyewitness saying she was at one point dragged underneath it. Police believe Jamie Alan Sinclair attempted to take the vehicle after he failed a police checkpoint alcohol breath test and his car was impounded, reports the Christchurch Press. The constable suffered a cut to her head, along with leg and ankle injuries, which were treated in Christchurch Hospital overnight. Now at home, she'll be off duty for a week to recover. Sinclair is now out on bail, but is charged with injuring with intent to unlawfully take a motor vehicle, driving while disqualified and theft of a police car. As New Zealand's first openly transgender police officer, Lurajud described herself as "just an ordinary middle-aged woman leading an ordinary middle-aged existence" when interviewed about her transgender journey in 2007. "When I go into town I'm accepted as a woman, when I go to work I'm accepted as a woman and when I'm at home I'm a woman," she added.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Monday, 11th January 2010 - 1:12pm