A man had to be tasered by a policeman after a domestic violence dispute on the West Coast yesterday.
Constable Paul Gurney was called to the incident around 8:20pm in an area of Haast without cellphone coverage and where the nearest police backup was about one-and-a-half hours away.
Const Gurney, after realising the situation, contacted a person who knew the alleged offender to help. The local Fire Service was also rallied.
The policeman faced physical threats during the encounter and the police car was damaged before the man was subdued with a Taser. The member of public helped handcuff him.
Acting West Coast area commander Inspector Iain McKenzie said the response from the community in assisting the officer was outstanding.
"Constable Gurney has significant experience as a sole-charge officer in remote communities so he certainly knows how to manage these situations," he said.
"He made a good call in ensuring he had backup before approaching the offender. The outcome yesterday was a credit to everyone involved and I can't thank those community members enough for their response."
Const Gurney recently returned to the West Coast after a period as the sole officer at New Zealand’s most remote police outpost in the Chatham Islands.
A 53-year-old Haast man will appear in the Greymouth District Court today facing assault and intentional damage charges.
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