Policeman nearly ran to get dried coconut (5)
I believe the answer is:
copra
'dried coconut' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'policeman nearly ran' is the wordplay.
'policeman' becomes 'cop' (slang term).
'nearly' means to remove the last letter.
'ran' with its final letter taken off is 'ra'.
'cop'+'ra'='COPRA'
'to get' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for copra that I've seen before include "bit of a nut" , "Oil producer" , "Dried coconut kernels" , "source of oils" , "Dried cocoa-nut kernels, source of oil" .)