Two assaults on Whakatane police

Two police officers have been assaulted in Rotorua at different times.

A retired policeman came to the aid of a Whakatane officer during one of two assaults on local police during the weekend.

Whakatane Senior Sergeant Yvonne Parker said the first of the two incidents happened after police responded to a call from a member of the public about 11am on Saturday.

"We got a call saying someone was towing small children around on Thornton Beach near the Pikowai Campground in a dangerous manner," Mrs Parker said.

"Before police arrived a family member from the group on the beach had allegedly abused the campground warden and had driven off."

When police stopped the man it is alleged he pushed the officer to the ground and assaulted him.

"The officer received facial, head, stomach and shoulder injuries and was taken to hospital," Mrs Parker said.

"With the help of a retired policeman who just happened to be passing, the 61-year-old man was arrested and has been charged with injuring with intent to injure." He is yet to appear before the courts.

The man has also been served a trespass notice by the Whakatane District Council who manage the Pikowai Campground.

Council public affairs manager Ross Boreham said the man had not been staying at the campground.

"Driving on the beach is in breach of council's bylaws and the safety issues are a matter of concern," he said.

The same night a second Whakatane police officer suffered facial bruising during the arrest of a woman for alleged disorderly behaviour.

"We had been called to a domestic incident but given an incorrect address," Mrs Parker said. "In the process of trying to establish where the incident was, an officer came across an altercation between two people near the Whakatane Bridge. The officer stopped and it transpired one of the people at the bridge had been involved in the domestic incident."

She said during and after the arrest, the 29-year-old Tauranga woman allegedly continued to resist police and kicked the officer in the face and spat at him.

She is facing charges of resisting police, common assault and disorderly behaviour and appeared in the Whakatane District Court on Tuesday before being remanded.

"Police are concerned with any assaults on officers in the process of doing their jobs," Mrs Parker said.

"And it's not just immediate injuries that are the concern. Sometime officers need to be in rehabilitation which decreases staff numbers and others get sick and tired of having to deal with situations like this and leave the job."

A spokesman for New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police took the safety of staff seriously and worked very hard to ensure their officers were well trained, equipped and supported to carry out their jobs.

"In recent years this has included improved tactical training, the introduction of stab resistant body armour, greater access to tactical options such as Taser and firearms, and the introduction of officer safety alarms for those working in remote areas."

- additional reporting NZ Herald.