Highway patrol officer attacked on roadside

At around 6.00am this morning , Saturday, 11 December, Police received reports of a red coloured Mazda 323 Hatchback motor vehicle, registration no. NN5654, driving erratically in a northbound direction, both south and north of Taihape.

This vehicle was stopped by a Police patrol car 7km north of Taihape, at around 6.23am. The attending Police Officer was subsequently the subject of a frenzied attack by the two occupants of the Mazda motor vehicle.

This Police Officer received serious injuries as a result of the attack which include multiple skull fractures and multiple lacerations to the head and body.

The two occupants decamped from the scene of the attack, in the Mazda motor vehicle, but crashed shortly after on Old Spooner Hill Road, Taihape. They were apprehended a short time later by Police.

Two males aged 18 and 14 are currently being spoken to by the Criminal Investigation Branch.

Police are now seeking sightings of this vehicle, between Feilding and Taihape. The vehicle was stolen in the early hours of this morning, some time after 2.30am, from an Awahuri Road address in Feilding.

Police also wish to speak to anyone who witnessed the roadside attack or who arrived and assisted at the scene post the attack.

The Police Officer was transported to Palmerston North Hospital where he is currently receiving medical attention.

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