UPDATED 10:00PM 9 SEPT – The man who bashed a police officer in South Auckland last Saturday night at about 11:20 pm has handed himself in according to police.
Walter George Tauatevalu, 36, from Otara, was on the run after an attack in which a 42 year-old Sergeant was kicked and beaten unconscious.
Detective Inspector Jim Gallagher said the injured officer was in Middlemore Hospital with serious facial injuries, including fractured eye sockets, fractured cheek bones and significant damage to the throat after being subjected to an unprovoked attack in Sandrine Ave. He has been transferred to Auckland City Hospital for special treatment.
“From the information I have, our officer is very lucky to be alive and will likely need several months of medical attention after being attacked from behind, knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked in the head while down.
“The officer had followed a car from outside a function at the velodrome and it stopped in Sandrine Ave which is where the driver was spoken to. The victim then went to speak with the passenger and it was then that he was attacked by the driver who had got out of the vehicle.
“ Thankfully, two women who had followed the officer’s patrol car from the function stopped and intervened during the attack and could well have saved his life.
“Our officers are trained to Police in a civilised society yet we are increasingly encountering nothing short of barbaric behaviour which is a significant concern to us all. These attacks should not be accepted by the wider community as ‘occupational hazards’.”
