Police tried to box in a truck using an unmarked police cruiser in the Strathcona neighbourhood of Vancouver on Sunday. (CBC)

An officer was in danger of being crushed when he shot a man who was behind the wheel of a stolen truck, Vancouver police said Monday.

A police vehicle had boxed in a stolen Ford F-350 truck in the city's Strathcona neighbourhood on Sunday afternoon, when the driver of the high-powered truck rammed a police car in an attempt to push it out of the way, Const. Jana McGuinness said Monday.

McGuinness said the driver continued to accelerate, despite a police car being parked right in front of him, bumper-to-bumper.

"Three of the officers got out, gave the driver commands. He disobeyed all the commands, and in fact, accelerated fully to the point where the tires were spinning and smoking on the pickup truck," McGuinness said.

That's when an officer trapped between the truck and an adjacent parked car fired a single shot at the driver, McGuinness said.

"The officer in the [unmarked police car] held the truck at bay, and one of the officers in very close proximity fired a single shot into the truck, striking the driver," she said.

The 38-year-old man inside the truck was wounded but he's expected to survive. McGuinness said he will be charged with assaulting a police officer and dangerous driving.

Police had been looking for the stolen truck for more than a week after it was involved in a woman being dragged for about 100 metres before the door on the vehicle was opened, releasing the woman's coat.

It was the second time in three weeks that Vancouver police have shot a theft suspect. On March 20, a man who allegedly threatened police officers with an X-Acto knife was shot to death on Granville Street.

"The decision to use force is never made lightly, and an officer would make that decision if they felt their life was in danger or the lives of others," McGuinness said.

According to ICBC, Ford's F-series trucks are the most stolen vehicles in British Columbia.

With files from the Canadian Press