Police officer said to have 'throttled' girlfriend

A police officer who allegedly throttled his girlfriend and bit her on the forehead was mauled by a police dog after escaping from custody, a jury at the Manukau District Court heard yesterday.

Simon Nita Ruru, aged 27, who was stationed at Onehunga, faces two charges of assaulting 23-year-old Dana Cornes on January 11 last year, one of threatening to kill her, one of injuring with intent to injure, one of assaulting her with intent to injure, one of escaping police custody and one of assaulting a police dog handler.

It is alleged that Ruru, who is represented by Peter Kaye, twisted the woman's wrist which had undergone an operation, and drove off leaving her without a crutch following an operation on her knee as a result of a snowboarding accident.

In his opening address, prosecutor David Jones said that Ms Cornes wanted to move out but Ruru was unhappy.

After attending a one-day cricket international against India, when Ruru was said to have drunk a lot of beer, the couple argued on the way home in the car.

Ruru allegedly grabbed Ms Cornes' bad arm, forcing her to pull over and get out of the vehicle.

"She didn't want to be in the car with him ... She asked for her crutch. He refused and drove off, leaving her by the side of the road," Mr Jones told the jury.

When she finally arrived at the Howick home they shared, Ruru was waiting for her.

He allegedly said he was going to kill her.

What happened next, said Mr Jones, was a catalogue of assaults.

He put her in a headlock and bit her forehead then put her in a carotid hold so that she could hardly breathe.

"The Crown says that he knew what sort of hold to put on people, how to render them helpless."

Ruru allegedly put his hand over the woman's mouth to stop her screams.

Inside the house, the attack continued, Mr Jones said.

He allegedly grabbed her injured arm and twisted it, causing her to bash her head hard on a tea chest.

But then, Mr Jones said, Ruru had a change of heart, started sobbing and said he was going to kill himself for what Ms Cornes had made him do to her.

Ms Cornes fled to a neighbour's house and the police were called.

When he arrived at Papakura police station in a police car, Ruru fled from his escorts. A police dog handler was called in to track him. Mr Jones said that Ruru was found hiding in undergrowth, throttling the dog, named Jake.

The handler told him to stop and said he would pacify the dog.

Instead, Ruru allegedly lashed out and kicked the officer in the jaw, causing him to fall backwards. Jake then had another go.

"Mr Ruru suffered a number of bites from the dog," Mr Jones told the jury.

Ms Cornes said that inside the car, Ruru was "pulling my wrist and twisting it."

After getting out of the vehicle, she told the jury: "I said, 'could you please give me my crutch. I need it to walk' ... He just drove off."

She said that when Ruru put her in a carotid hold she was "struggling to breathe".

"I thought he was going to kill me and then kill himself."

The trial, before Judge Russell Johnson, continues today.