Assault on police may lead to jail

The assault was the second time Heihei has been before the courts this year.

An Auckland student faces a jail term after trying to strangle two female police officers during a vicious alcohol-fuelled assault.

The attack, condemned by police and the community in which it happened, came just two months after Arena Rapine Heihei, 25, was convicted of drink-driving.

Heihei was approached by two female officers working together on duty in central Kerikeri about 11pm on Saturday, June 1. He was in an "intoxicated state" in a service alley behind a block of shops, police said.

As the officers approached him he set upon them and assaulted each of the women.

The officers managed to restrain Heihei and call for backup.

Heihei is from Kerikeri but Sergeant Paul Le Comte said he had been studying in Auckland.

He appeared in the Kaikohe District Court and was convicted of injuring with intent to injure each of the policewomen, disorderly conduct likely to cause violence, threatening to kill or do grievous bodily harm and resisting police.

The most serious charge, injuring with intent to injure, carries a maximum penalty of five years' jail. Heihei is due to be sentenced in the Kerikeri District Court on September 30.

The assault was the second time Heihei has been before the courts this year. In April he was convicted of drink-driving, fined $800 and disqualified for six months. He was caught driving with 821 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, more than double the legal limit of400mcg.