A 36-year-old Annapolis Valley man is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a police officer and driving while impaired with a 10-year-old child in his vehicle over the weekend.

An RCMP officer saw a vehicle driving "suspiciously slowly" in Wilmot, N.S., just before 10 p.m. on Sunday, police said in a news release.

Where the officer looked up the licence plate, he learned the vehicle had been reported stolen. The officer followed the vehicle into a driveway and the driver got out.

The officer approached the man and noticed he seemed impaired, police said. The officer told the man he was under arrest for possession of stolen property and suspected impaired driving.

Police say the driver then assaulted the officer, got back in the vehicle and tried to flee. The officer reached through the open door and tried to get the man out of the vehicle which continued to drive forward into the police car, then reversed and hit a tree.

Police said the officer then used pepper spray on the suspect, who got out of the vehicle and assaulted the officer again before he ran away.

A dog team was brought in to search for the man but they were unable to find him.

The man was found later and arrested without incident.

The RCMP officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The 10-year-old in the allegedly stolen vehicle was also taken to hospital as a precaution.

The Wilmot man is facing charges of possession of stolen property, impaired driving, resisting arrest and assault of a peace officer. He's scheduled to appear in Digby provincial court on Thursday.