WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Early on New Year’s Day, two New Zealand police officers were walking patrol when a car struck them, killing one and gravely wounding the other, according to the nation’s police chief.
In a nation where police officers are rarely killed while on duty, the attack was shocking. According to police on Thursday, Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming was the first female officer in New Zealand history to be killed in the line of duty.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters in the South Island city of Nelson that the car struck the officers “at speed” during a routine sweep of a parking lot on Wednesday before the driver turned and collided with a police vehicle. Hours later, Fleming passed away in a nearby hospital.
A 32-year-old male was arrested over the event shortly after it happened, at about 2 a.m. local time. He was accused with eight criminal crimes, including murder, attempted murder, assault using a car as a weapon and driving while disqualified.
The other officer injured by the automobile was in serious condition but was expected to make a good recovery, Chambers said. Two members of the public were injured, one after arriving to assist the injured officers, and a third officer in the rammed police car suffered a concussion.
Despite not mentioning a motive, Chambers denounced the “senseless act of an individual who appears to have been determined to cause harm.”
“At this point, there was no indication that what was going to happen actually happened,” Chambers stated.
The cops were “targeted in what I consider a very cowardly attack,” Police Minister Mark Mitchell told reporters. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wrote on X that it was a “devastating day” for the nation and the police.
The attack took place on the street where the city’s New Year’s Eve festivities had ended two hours earlier in the downtown district of Nelson, which has a population of 55,000.
Prior to Wednesday, the last time a New Zealand police officer was killed while on duty was in 2020 when a fugitive driver shot the officer. According to police statistics, 33 other officers have lost their lives as a result of crimes committed while on duty since 1890.