The Herald understands Mr Griffin returned to his duties about three weeks ago with the help of another police officer in his first week back on the job.
A close associate of Mr Griffin said community leaders held a lunch for the police officer in Pirongia in a show of support for him and his family.
She said the Kawhia community raised enough money for Mr Griffin and his family to take a break overseas.
The associate said Mr Griffin had no plans to leave Kawhia and was quickly back into his stride, saving a girl's life.
"He had only been back for maybe a day or two and he helped to save a young girl at Ocean Beach.
"People had missed him all right, but things are back to normal with him around and it's good."
Outside of court, Maikuku's father, Jackie Maikuku snr, said his son had been given a rough deal and the incident had been stressful for him and his family.
"He's been portrayed as a vicious, cowardly mongrel but ... we were there on the day and know exactly what went down," Mr Maikuku said.
"There are certainly videos out there that will cause a lot more questions to be asked."
He initially faced assault charges from the same incident his son is charged over, but the charges have since been dropped.
Mr Maikuku said his son had strong support in his hometown but he was unsure of whether the young man would return to the township if his innocence was proven.
Jackie Maikuku was remanded in custody yesterday.
He has pleaded guilty to the matters Mr Griffin originally wanted to speak to him about and will be sentenced at the Hamilton District Court next month.
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