A police officer who was stabbed resulting in a punctured lung had been incorrectly measured for a stab-proof vest and was waiting on another fitting, National police spokesman Chester Borrows says.
Acting Sergeant Andrew Grice spent several days in intensive care after being stabbed four times in theback and shoulder.
Mr Borrows said answers to written questions in Parliament showed Mr Grice was told five days before he was stabbed that he was due to again be measured for a vest.
Mr Borrows said delays in the rollout of the vests "very nearly had fatal consequences".
"They were first promised them by June last year, then February this year and then May but still only 44 per cent of police have them.
"The fact is that Mr Grice would probably not have suffered such serious injuries had the Government ensured vests were delivered to all police by June last as promised," he said.
Police Minister Annette King had said it was anticipated 95 to 98 per cent of the frontline staff should have vests by the end of July with the remainder by the end of the year.
Ms King confirmed through the written replies that Mr Grice had been earlier incorrectly fitted for a vest and that police staff were not individually responsible for the delay in the rollout of the vests.
Ms King told Parliament earlier this month that the rollout of the stab-proof vests was plagued by errors and could have been done better.
She also said at the time that she "deeply regretted" both that an officer who did not have the protective clothing was stabbed on duty and the delays in the national rollout.
Since the vests were first proposed in 2002, 17 officers have been slashed or stabbed.
Mr Grice was stabbed four times when he and two other officers responded to a domestic incident in Hamilton.
