A police officer was attacked by a man with a knife while sitting in his patrol car talking to a young woman whose rape complaint he'd been sent to investigate.
It's thought a man slipped into the back seat and attacked the officer with a knife about 1am on Fridayon Finlow Drive, Te Atatu Sth. He suffered head and hand wounds.
A resident told the Weekend Herald he and his wife were woken by panicked screams of "call the police" from a woman running up a neighbour's driveway.
He said the policeman arrived and was speaking to the woman from his car when the attack happened. The man didn't see anyone else.
More police cars arrived and a man was seen being led away in handcuffs. The woman was put in another police car and the officer helped to an ambulance.
A nearby house had been searched and a man arrested. An unemployed 22-year-old man appeared in the Waitakere District Court charged with threatening to kill two police officers, injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and rape. He was remanded to appear next month.
