WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – New Zealand's police chief says a driver struck two New Zealand police officers on foot patrol in the early morning hours of New Year's Day, killing one and seriously injuring another. Announced.
The attack shocked a country where killings of police officers on duty are rare.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters in the South Island city of Nelson that a car plowed into officers on routine patrol of a car park “at high speed” before the driver swerved and crashed into a police car. He said he did. A 32-year-old man was arrested and charged shortly after the incident, which occurred around 2 a.m. local time.
One of the officers, a woman, died several hours later at a local hospital.
The other person was in critical condition but is expected to make a full recovery, Chambers said. A third officer in the rammed patrol car suffered a concussion and two civilians were injured, one after coming to the aid of the injured officer.
Mr Chambers did not give a motive, but condemned the “unwise actions of individuals who appear determined to cause harm”.
“At this stage there was no indication that that was going to happen,” Chambers said.
New Zealand Police Minister Mark Mitchell said officers had been targeted in “what I believe was a very cowardly attack”.
The attack occurred in Nelson's downtown area (population 55,000), close to the street where the city's New Year's Eve celebrations had ended two hours earlier.
Before Wednesday, the last time a police officer was killed on duty in New Zealand was in 2020, when a police officer was shot dead by a fleeing driver. Since 1890, 33 other police officers have died in the line of duty due to criminal activity, according to police records.
Mr Chambers said the woman killed, Senior Sergeant Lynn Fleming, had been an officer for 38 years and was a “well-known and highly respected member of the Nelson community”. She has a spouse and children.
The indicted man is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
