Injured Police Officer

Counties Manukau Police continue to investigate the serious assault of a 39 year old male, off duty Police Officer.

The Officer was seriously assaulted yesterday afternoon by a large group of youths on Elizabeth Street, Tuakau.

"The Officer who was stationed at Papakura suffered severe injuries including a fractured skull, multiple facial fractures, collapsed lung, broken jaw and a broken ankle. He is in the High Dependency Unit at Middlemore Hospital and is in a serious but stable condition," said District Commander, Superintendent Mike Bush.

"A team of Detectives and uniform Police Officers are currently working on the investigation. Their focus is on interviewing a large number of witnesses. They are keen to talk to a bus driver and a truck driver who are believed to of witnessed the incident but then left the scene.

"I applaud the bravery of those who took action. What I do ask is for any person getting involved is to, weigh up the risks for yourself. I praise the off duty Police Officer and the members of the community that intervened and assisted in this event, it was an act of courage. We cannot tolerate violence in our neighbourhoods. Following incidents such as this the police take a step forward to prevent similar incidents, we encourage the community to take that step with us."

Police urge the parents of the young people involved in this incident to come forward. They also encourage anyone who witnessed anything in relation to this incident to contact them immediately on 09 2950200 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.