A police officer is in a critical condition after being hit by a fleeing driver in Palmerston North overnight.
Superintendent Dion Bennett said the driver had been signalled to stop about 2am on Amberley Avenue but allegedly fled.
“Minutes later, the vehicle, which was not being pursued, hit a Police officer laying spikes on Kairanga Bunnythorpe Road.
“The officer suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Wellington Hospital, while a second officer was treated for minor injuries.”
Bennett said the vehicle’s two occupants were both young people and had been arrested at the scene.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell told RNZ he was travelling to Wellington to support the injured officer.
“The Commissioner and I will be providing any support that the family require,” he said.
“Policing by its sheer nature does carry risk, there’s no doubt about that, but of course that doesn’t lessen or reduce the impact that is felt when one of our police officers is injured in the line of duty.
“They are out there protecting their community, they are representative of us, they do carry that risk, but it doesn’t make it any easier when a police officer is seriously hurt, injured or killed.”
The president of the Police Association, Steve Watt, said incidents like this were felt by all members.
“Ultimately, the police is a big family and when these sorts of things happen it really cuts deep and it affects us all,” he said.
“Much like the rest of our members, we’re waiting and hoping for the best outcome.”
Watt said they were working with police’s welfare network and organising wrap around support not only for the officer but for his family.
“There’s a reasonably large contingent of family that have headed to Wellington, so we’ll look to continue to support them and make sure that they’re well looked after,” he said.
A scene examination was carried out by the Serious Crash Unit and a section of the road remains closed.
A Police Critical Incident Investigation had been launched, and police said they are trying to understand the full circumstances of what occurred and notify relevant agencies.
“This work will take time, and we will share information when we are in a position to do so,” Bennett said.
“In the meantime, we are wrapping support around the staff members involved and their whānau, as well as their colleagues.”
The injuring of the Palmerston North officer comes 18 years after Sergeant Derek Wootton was killed while laying road spikes in Porirua, north of Wellington.
The 52-year-old was struck by a Honda Prelude as he deployed the spikes at around 3am on Dimock Street in Titahi Bay.
The stolen Honda had reached speeds of 160 kilometres an hour as it drove through residential streets, followed by police.
Wootton had previously worked as a builder and milkman before joining the police and was the first posted to Porirua as a constable when he graduated in 1994.
The then Wellington Police District Commander Pieri Munroe described him as an experienced frontline supervisor.
From report bt RNZ Journalist Finn Blackwell
