A driver ran down two New Zealand police officers as they patrolled on foot in the early hours of New Year’s Day, killing one and seriously injuring the other, the country’s police chief said.
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The attack jolted a country where the killing of police officers on duty is rare.
The vehicle drove into the officers “at speed” as they performed a routine patrol of a car park, before the driver turned and rammed a police car, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters in the South Island city of Nelson. A 32-year-old man was arrested and charged over the incident shortly after it happened at about 2am local time.
One of the officers, a woman, died in a local hospital hours later.
The other was in serious condition but was expected to make a full recovery, 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.
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Chambers condemned the “senseless act of an individual who appears to have been determined to cause harm,” although he did not suggest a motive.