Northern Territory Police have arrested a man they say was on a crime spree around Darwin but the 24 year old was not taken in quietly.

Police Duty Superintendent Louise Jorgensen said the alleged offender tried to run over a police officer before being caught on Wednesday afternoon.

Police had been looking for him for two months after he allegedly seriously assaulted a woman and stole three cars.

Superintendent Jorgensen said he stole another car just before he was caught.

"He was spotted by Taskforce Trident members out at Howard Springs and this bloke actually tried to run one of the Trident members over" she said.

"The car got away for a while but it was later found abandoned at the Elizabeth River Bridge".

Police allege the same man was responsible for the attempted theft of a car from a Darwin petrol station in November last year.

Video of that botched robbery, released by NT Police, shows the car's owner running back to his vehicle and jumping in through the passenger's window.

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