Two police brutally attacked hours apart

A police officer received serious facial injuries after an incident on Whangarei's Kamo Rd. Photo / Janna Dixon

A police officer's colleagues scrambled on their knees on the ground to retrieve his lip after an attacker chewed it off in a brutal assault on Friday night.

The officer was flown to Auckland City Hospital yesterday for facial reconstructive surgery.

The incident was one of two violent attacks against police officers in just eight hours and has led Police Minister Judith Collins to explore tougher penalties for those who attack cops.

South Auckland Constable John Connolly was in a coma after the first attack - a beating from a group of teenagers after he came upon a fracas in Elizabeth St, Tuakau.

Then, just before midnight, two officers in Whangarei stopped a suspected drunk driver, only to wind up in a violent altercation which left one officer with serious facial injuries.

Reo Rangipohewa Uerata, 29, appeared in the Whangarei District Court yesterday on six charges linked to the assault, including disfigurement by grievous bodily harm, assault and resisting arrest.

Uerata was also accused of assaulting and threatening grievous bodily harm to the second police officer and faces charges of driving while disqualified and refusing to allow police to take a blood specimen. He is due back in court tomorrow. Both officers were granted interim name suppression.

Uerata was said to have attacked the officer after he was pulled over along Kamo Rd, Whangarei, around 11.15pm on Friday night.

Whangarei District Inspector Clifford Paxton said "a significant portion of his lip needs to be reconstructed. He has some serious facial injuries."

Neighbours along Kamo Rd were pulled into the drama late on Friday night when a stream of officers arrived to help their colleague.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said police came running to her home and asked for ice to put on the attacked officer's mouth.

"There was so much screaming," said another neighbour, Christina Gibson.

"The ambulance turned up pretty quickly and there were so many police cars here. Not long after there were policemen shining their torches around on the ground in the grass, obviously looking for it [part of the lip].

"It was too dark to see how much damage was done."

Across the street, David Maddox said marked and unmarked police cars turned up "within minutes".

"There were a lot of people out on the street watching and trying to help. When I went out there were about four cops holding down the guy and were handcuffing his hands behind his back."

Police Minister Judith Collins said she wanted to visit both officers in hospital today if they were well enough.

"I am not expecting them to be standing to attention," she said. I just want to give them support and support their families.

"Police are brave people who do a very dangerous and difficult job. My heart goes out to them and their families.

Collins said she had asked police headquarters to place a priority on reports exploring tougher penalties for those who attacked officers.

"The worst thing of my job as the Minister of Police is when you have an officer attacked," she said. "Both incidents have just been sickening."

She said a law change to further protect officers could be considered but the best protection was respect.

"Police have a really tough job. What we are seeing this weekend is what happens when you have disrespect for the law.

"Policing is a difficult business and unfortunately there are some people who have no respect whatsoever for the law. This group of people has been growing over the past 10 years to the extent that they think they can get away with it. Clearly prison is some place they'd like to go.

"I am utterly disgusted by what has happened as I am sure every decent New Zealander will be," Collins said.

She also said there had been a massive increase in youth crime.

"It's quite deadly violence too that's being used. They are coming up from families that are basically gang and crime families who have no respect for rules, laws or anybody, and they are clearly not afraid of consequences. They are coming in to the justice system earlier and they are coming in harder.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said the organisation would also be offering support to both the injured officers. "I feel for them and their families."

He said attacks on police were becoming "relatively regular", which was a huge concern.

He said the problem required a change in attitudes across society.

"It is very easy to demand - what have we got to do to fix it. Sentencing will help, more equipment will help, more firearms will help.

"All these single things will help, but across the board there needs to be a concerted effort to instil in criminals that attacks on police will lead to consequences."

He said the Government, media and other agencies needed to drive the message home that police needed respect and protection.

"There has got to be a co-ordinated effort so criminals view attacks on police as not just attacks on officers - they are ultimately attacks on society.

"How can people feel safe if they don't believe the police are?"

Heads plead for changes

In the year to June 30 2009, 2387 police were attacked on the job, up from 2248 the previous year.

Statistics for the second half of 2009 and 2010 so far will not be available until July.

In October the Police Association called for a law change which would see anyone who attacked a cop serve a six month mandatory jail sentence.

The suggestion came after similar legislation was introduced in Western Australia.