Napier siege hero assaulted in court may have permanent eye damage

Senior Constable Paul Symonds, decorated for bravery after the Napier Siege in 2009, is still recovering from a vicious assault while working in court last year. Photo / File

A long-serving police officer decorated for bravery in the 2009 Napier siege has what may be permanent damage to his eyesight after allegedly being assaulted by an offender.

Senior Constable Paul Symonds was just weeks from retirement when Napier Walker attacked him leaving a courtroom, moments after being sentenced to jail.

The details of the injuries are revealed in a police summary of allegations against the 24-year-old Napier man, who appeared in Napier District Court yesterday, via an AV link from Hawke's Bay Prison.

Walker pleaded not guilty in May to charges of injuring Symonds with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, obstructing the officer in the execution of his duty, and injuring another officer at court.

Currently serving a sentence of two years and 10 months imposed just before the incident in Hastings District Court on December 20 last year, Walker is now remanded to appear in the Napier court again next Friday.

As a result of the assault, Symonds has double vision in one eye which could be permanent, had required laser eye surgery and the insertion of a metal plate to repair an eye socket.

He was one of the first on the scene after the shooting of three fellow long-serving Napier police officers during a cannabis bust at a property in Chaucer Rd, Napier in May 2009.

Senior Constable Len Snee died in the shooting, and after a two-day siege gunman Jan Molenaar was found dead in the house on the property.

The Napier house from which Jan Molenaar shot two police and held others at bay in a two-day siege in May 2009. Photo / File

In an interview with Hawke's Bay Today in 2012 Symonds said he and Snee were good friends and he thought of his fallen colleague "pretty well every day...yes there were nightmares for a while".

He was first introduced to Snee in 1988 when he embarked on his police career in Napier.

''I joined his section - section six ... I learned so much off Len and he was a great mentor ... old cop skills. He was astute, very sharp, and he always had this aura about him - he projected a feeling of safety and great knowledge".

In April 2010, Symonds was among officers involved in the siege awarded the New Zealand Bravery Star.

Senior Constable Paul Symonds speaking at the funeral of Senior Constable Len Snee in May, 2009. Photo / File