Traffic officer attacked

Press, 25 October 1982, Page 6

Traffic officer attacked

PA Auckland A South Auckland traffic officer was punched and had his radio-telephone ripped from his hands as he tried to summon help for himself and his woman partner early yesterday. The two officers ran into problems working the first night of the Labour Day wwek-end. drink-driving blitz when they went to take a suspected drunken driver back to the station to complete testing. The man’s passengers came to his aid arid freed him after the officers had arrested him for failing to accompany them. Traffic Officers Bruce Carr and Angela Cunningham had stopped the suspect’s car in Otahuhu at 2.45 a.m. Ms Cunningham gave the driver a breath test. He was put in the patrol car to go back to the station. Then

trouble erupted: the man’s two passengers got out of their car and approached the officers’ car urging their companion to get out. The police said Mr Carr began to call for assistance on the radio-telephone but one man ripped it from his hands. Another of them swung on the front passenger door of the patrol car bending and slightly damaging it, then struck Mr Carr. The arrested man got out of the patrol car and the three drove off in their car as the traffic officers again sought help. Later yesterday the South Auckland police said they were following promising leads in their search for the assailants. The traffic officers had been able to give the registration number of the car and descriptions of the men.