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Video / NZ Herald
Chaotic footage has captured the moment a police officer, a Corrections officer and a prisoner were injured during an explosive brawl in the High Court.
Police swarmed the High Court at Napier minutes after the fracas broke out during a hearing on Monday, where members of the public gallery had scaled a 2m high barrier and are alleged to have stomped and punched one person hiding under a table.
Two men have been charged with assault following the melee, which saw the Corrections officer sent to hospital. Four people were involved in the incident, police said, and further arrests are likely.
Director of Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison George Massingham said the Corrections officer has been given time off work and is being supported through their recovery.
Massingham called the brawl “an extremely distressing event”.
Video footage of the melee shows one Corrections officer trying to hold back a mob of people at the partition between the public gallery and the rest of the courtroom.
One man can be seen clambering over the glass gate separating the public from the courtroom.
Other members of the public, all crowded at the glass partition, watch on as a shirtless man leans over a table, his legs flailing in the air, and appears to swing punches at a person huddled under the desk.
The shirtless man then stands upright and is alleged to begin stomping the person as another Corrections officer tries to pull him away by his arm.
Amid all the yelling and screaming in the courtroom, one person can be heard yelling, “f***ing smash him” as the man is alleged to repeatedly stomp on the victim’s back.
Meanwhile, another person appears to throw several punches at the victim.
The video cuts out shortly after someone yells, “Get out. Everybody out”.
Police arrive to restore order at the Napier courthouse. Photo / Ric Stevens
Massingham said the Corrections officer was injured while trying to restrain the alleged offenders. They were taken to hospital for further treatment of a knee injury.
“We are continuing to provide ongoing support to the other staff members who were inside the courtroom at the time,” he said.
“I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our staff during what was an extremely distressing event for all those who witnessed it.”
Massingham said a prisoner was attacked, but did not need to be taken to hospital after prison medical staff saw him.
Sergeant Emmet Lynch said a police officer suffered a hand injury but didn’t need medical treatment.
Lynch said police believed there were four people involved in the incident and said more arrests were likely.
“The Ministry has security measures in place to ensure the safe and orderly operation of all courts and tribunals, and the safety of people who use them,” Padgett said.
She did not answer the Herald’s questions about whether security would be beefed up.
“All persons wishing to enter a courthouse must comply with all conditions of entry, which includes security screening,” Padgett said.
About 30 whānau and supporters of the victim had earlier filled the public gallery of the courtroom in Napier for the hearing.
The hearing proceeded normally until a man scaled the 2m glass barrier. The doors in the barrier were locked.
He was followed by two others, who leapt into the dock to assault the defendant as Corrections staff, security guards and a police officer struggled for several minutes to regain control.
