Officer on job kicked, punched

Press, 1 December 1987, Page 9

Officer on job kicked, punched

PA Auckland A St John Ambulance officer was kicked and punched in an Auckland street yesterday as he went to the aid of a woman patient. Mr Brian Thorpe was kicked three times in the stomach and punched in the mouth as he went to attend a woman who had collapsed in the De Brett Hotel, High Street. As Mr Thorpe backed into a parking space, a man in a van behind repeatedly honked his horn. Mr Thorpe stepped out of the ambulance to cross the road, and the van pulled out in front of him. Mr Thorpe spoke to the man, who became agitated, opened his car door and kicked Mr Thorpe in the stomach. More heated discussion took place and Mr Thorpe was hit in the mouth and kicked twice more in the stomach. “Instead of calming down, he seemed to get really hyped up,” Mr Thorpe said. “I was concernd about the job I was trying to do at the time — there was no way I wanted to get into a Rocky 111 situation.” Mr Thorpe said ambulance officers were having to become more careful for their own safety. A man, aged 51, was arrested and will appear today in the District Court at Auckland on a charge of assault.