KEY POINTS:
Police conceded yesterday they could have kept a 16-year-old bashing victim better informed but denied being too busy to investigate the brutal attack.
Timothy van Irsel was set upon by a gang of youths as he left a party in Christchurch on October 29.
A bottle was smashed over his head as he tried to flee, fracturing his skull and requiring surgery to insert titanium plates.
His mother, Phillipa, said yesterday police told her a week after the attack they were too busy to investigate the incident.
"We were virtually laughed at," she said.
"They were pretty rude, saying 'lady, get real, you won't hear anything for four to six weeks'."
Mrs van Irsel said between 10 and 20 youths were involved in the attack and the family had given police several names and a car registration number to follow up.
But she had been "gutted" by the police response.
Christchurch southern area police commander Inspector Dave Lawry said yesterday officers were at the scene of the attack before an ambulance arrived.
"Timothy was fully interviewed on October 31 and, on November 14, he and his mother were contacted to let them know about progress on the file," Mr Lawry said.
A senior police team assigned to the van Irsel case was diverted to investigate the serious assault of a Christchurch builder who was found lying in a pool of blood on a footpath near his Mairehau home on November 30.
Three youths aged 14, 16 and 17 had been charged with assaulting the builder.
However, Mr Lawry conceded the van Irsel attack could have been handled better.
"We possibly could have done a bit better between other priorities but the assertion we've done nothing is quite untrue," he said.
"The operation was diverted to a more serious priority - a possible homicide."
Mr Lawry said police should have kept the van Irsel family better informed. "We'll take that on the chin."
But he said he had heard only yesterday about Mrs van Irsel's claims of a rude response from police to her inquiry about progress in the case.
"If what is being alleged is true, then that's outrageous," Mr Lawry said.
"However, I've no evidence to substantiate that either way.
"I'd be surprised if that's what occurred and I'll be taking that up with her personally."
- NZPA
