One New Zealand police officer has been killed and another seriously injured after they were hit by a car during early foot patrols on New Year’s Day, according to the country’s police chief.
The vehicle drove into the officers “at speed” as they performed a routine patrol of a parking lot, before the driver turned and rammed a police car, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters in the South Island city of Nelson on Wednesday.
Both officers were initially rushed to Nelson Hospital in critical conditions.
A 32-year-old man was tasered and arrested at the scene and charged shortly after the incident happened at about 2am local time (11pm AEST on Tuesday).
One of the officers identified by New Zealand Police as Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming, died in hospital hours later, according to a statement released by authorities.
“A widely respected police officer with 38 years frontline service. She was also a loved and cherished, daughter, mother, wife and valued member of the wider Nelson community,” Commissioner Chambers said.
“Lyn was a beautiful soul and her death will be felt across the Nelson community and our Police family.”
Her colleague, identified by police as Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay, was in a serious condition but was expected to make a full recovery, Commissioner Chambers said.
A third officer who was in the rammed police car received a concussion and two members of the public were hurt, one of them after coming to help the injured officers.
Commissioner Chambers condemned the “senseless act of an individual who appears to have been determined to cause harm,” although he did not suggest a motive.
“There was, at this stage, no indication that was what about to occur, occurred,” he said.
“Lyn and Adam, like so many of our officers were working on New Year’s Eve to keep people safe on a night intended for celebration.
“It fills me with great sadness that their efforts to do so have ended in a senseless act that has taken the life of one of our colleagues and seriously injured another.”
New Zealand’s Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the officers were “targeted in what I consider a very cowardly attack.”
The incident, which happened near to Buxton Square in a downtown area of Nelson close to the street where the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations had concluded two hours before, has jolted New Zealand, where the killing of police officers on duty is rare.
