A police car ran over a man sleeping in Casino’s Memorial Park on Wednesday (January 6). Photo Facebook

Police are remaining tight-lipped after officers driving through a Casino park on Wednesday afternoon ran over a man who was sleeping off too much drink under a tree.

An investigation is underway after police ran over the 41-year-old man in Memorial Park at around 4pm while following up on alleged theft of alcohol from a shop nearby.

Richmond LAC crime manager Nicole Bruce on Wednesday told APN Media the incident was ‘unfortunate’, adding ‘luckily the gentleman didn’t sustain serious injuries’.

But a locally based social media crime-watch group claims the man did in fact sustain very serious injuries and had to undergo an extensive operation as a result.

The website quoted an unnamed relative as saying the victim had undergone ‘nine hours of surgery on his mangled leg and his mangled ear that had to be stitched together again’.

But Echonetdaily has been unable to verify the validity of these claims after police closed ranks yesterday morning, refusing to comment or respond to our requests for information.

A NSW Police Media spokesperson told us late yesterday that she had a ‘holding statement’ on the incident.

The statement reads as follows:

‘A man has suffered minor injuries after being hit by a police car at Casino.

‘About 4pm the man was struck while lying in the grounds of Memorial Park at Casino.

‘The 41-year-old was taken to Lismore Base Hospital for treatment to cuts to his leg and ear.

‘Additional police from Richmond Local Area Command attended and are investigating.’

The spokesperson said anyone who witnessed the incident should contact police.