Assault on police officer captured in shocking video before man tasered in Auckland street. Video / Supplied
A female police officer being knocked out on the streets of Auckland shows the "atrocious and unacceptable level of violence" cops face on a daily basis, the Police Association says.
The officer was knocked unconscious on the corner of Great South and Station Roads on Monday at 12.17pm.
Police confirmed a man, 27, had been arrested following the attack and was due to appear in Counties Manukau District Court charged with intent to injure.
The man was Tasered after fleeing from police on foot and assaulting the officer.
"The officer involved was knocked unconscious during this incident, and is now off work recovering. She is being well supported by her colleagues," police said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We would like to thank the community who witnessed this incident for their support and assistance and we appreciate those who came to the aid of our officer."
NZ Police Association President Chris Cahill said the video reveals to New Zealanders the "atrocious and unacceptable level of violence" police officers face on a daily basis.
A witness captured the attack on camera.
He described the incident as a "callous unprovoked attack".
"The violence is raw to witness and unfortunately assaults of this gravity are not rare, with more than 2000 assaults on officers last year alone," Cahill said.
"Being assaulted is not 'just part of the job' of keeping communities safe, and the courts need to send a clear message to that effect. If police officers are not protected how are they supposed to protect New Zealanders?"
Members of the public rushed to help a female police officer who was knocked out and lay prone in the middle of a Manurewa street.
Cahill said the association will work with the police wellness team to support this officer.
Cahill said the female police officer who was punched and knocked unconscious in Auckland on Monday has severe bruising and swelling.
"That will heal, my concern is the mental harm that does to someone and that's long term," he said.
Speaking to AM, he said Tasers were hit and miss and their impact depends on the motivation of a person and their clothing – things like jackets could be difficult for them to work, he said.
"It's not just the officer, I always worry about the whanau – the parents, the partners, the children that see their loved one go off to work and are just spending that whole shift worrying about them."
He said there have been "good" improvements made to training which has increased from three and a half days to seven and a half days a year.
The extended training period was still being rolled out across regions.
"There's so much work to be done, you can only do so much training [and] have enough police out there."
Training covered a wide range of issues including defensive tactics, driving, mental health and family harm.
"Police are the jack of all trades so it's hard to get specialist training across everything.
"The real thing is that society has to change the idea that the police are fair game, and the court has a place to play in this.
"At some stage there has to be deterrent sentences that say if you're going to assault a police officer, you're actually assaulting a society in general."
The witness who filmed the video told the Herald he was waiting at the traffic lights when he saw police chasing after the man who was "in an agitated state".
As the officers surrounded the man on foot, he approached a female officer and punched her in the face.
