A man who went from being a victim to a villain within minutes of being assaulted in Hamilton East will be interviewed by Police today after an officer was left with facial injuries overnight.
City Deployment Manager, Inspector Karen Henrikson, said the overnight shift manager- a Senior Sergeant, suffered a broken nose when trying to restrain a man being treated in an ambulance.
"Officers were called to reports of two men fighting on Clyde St about 9.15pm and arrived to find a man lying unconscious on the ground.
"An ambulance was called and as the man, who had been drinking, was being treated he became aggressive to the point my staff became concerned enough to restrain him. It was while in the back of the ambulance that the officer has been struck in the face with the man's head and he suffered fractures to his nose in two places."
Both the officer and the 19-year-old Wairarapa man were taken to Waikato Hospital for treatment and the man is expected to be interviewed today in relation to the Senior Sergeant's injuries.
While this was the eighth and most senior officer to be subject to assault this week Ms Henrikson said the incidents had to be viewed in context.
"Policing, by the very nature of the job, has its risks and from time to time incidents like this happen which is why Police invest so much resources into appropriate training.
"What is of concern is that in many of these cases the offenders involved have been under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. We need to look at where our choices are taking us and I can assure you if those choices take you in a direction where our staff are injured the consequences can be very severe indeed."
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