Five officers face festive violence

Taranaki police officers were allegedly bitten and spat on during a series of separate arrests made in the festive season.

Four people, three men and one female teen, were arrested between December 25 and January 1 on a variety of charges, including assaulting police or resisting arrest. In all, five police officers were on the receiving end of aggression.

The worst incident out of the cases currently before the court involved a man who was arrested in Pa¯ tea, South Taranaki, on New Year’s Day after allegedly biting an officer’s arm.

Sergeant Bruce Irvine, of New Plymouth, said the accused was found hiding in the cupboard and when the constable tried to arrest him, he struggled and then assaulted the officer.

Irvine said the defendant’s teeth left ‘‘quite a bad bite’’.

A 21-year-old man was charged with resisting police and assaulting an officer and is due to appear in the Ha¯wera District Court on January 9.

On December 30, a New Plymouth police constable and sergeant were assaulted by an 18-year-old woman during the course of an arrest. Taryna Mcgovern is alleged to have resisted police and then became violent towards them during an incident where it was also claimed she had been carrying two large knives.

The teen appeared in New Plymouth District Court yesterday, where she faces a total of six charges and she was remanded into custody to reappear on January 11. She has yet to enter pleas to any of the charges.

On December 27, Theo Aan De Brugh was arrested in New Plymouth for allegedly breaching his court curfew condition. As he was being handcuffed, he has been accused of spitting in the police officer’s face. Police opposed Aan De Brugh’s release from custody but yesterday, Judge Garry Barkle granted the 20-year-old bail and he will reappear in court on January

18.

On Christmas Day, Anthony Hamuera Kipa resisted his arrest by an attending constable. The

28-year-old, who is also facing a charge of burglary, was remanded into custody by Judge Barkle after his court appearance and faces another hearing on January 18.

Irvine said violence against onduty police officers was not uncommon, but on the whole it was of a ‘‘relatively minor’’ nature.