Crimeline: Cop allegedly assaulted by teen
Two local 19-year-old males allegedly tried to fight with members of the public downtown just after midnight on Saturday, with one accused of then hitting a cop in the face.
Police located one of the men urinating in Searle Lane. The pair walked away from Police in the lane and were located soon after, one on the roof of a local bar, and the other at the bottom of a staircase.
Both men allegedly resisted arrest and one allegedly assaulted a police officer by hitting them in the face, Constable Amanda Shute says.
One of the men has been charged with assaulting and resisting Police, excreting in a public place, and disorderly behaviour and will appear in the Queenstown District Court on 19 May.
The other, charged with disorderly behaviour and resisting Police, will appear in the Queenstown District Court on 4 April.
Man attacked by group in Man Street
Police are calling for witnesses to an assault at 6.30am in Man Street on Saturday in which a male victim was attacked by a group of about five other males.
The man who was set upon by the group sustained a cut and swelling to his eye.
No further detail was available as to what prompted the attack, or where the victim was from, but Shute says they would like to hear from any members of the public who may have witnessed the attack in Man Street at that time.
Contact Police on 105 quoting file # 250309/8399.
Disqualified drivers at checkpoint
Police netted two disqualified drivers at a checkpoint in Arrowtown around 6.30pm on Wednesday (5 March). Shute says a 23-year-old local male attempted to avoid the checkpoint. He was stopped by Police and passed a breath alcohol test.
“After being questioned the driver admitted to being disqualified from driving.” The vehicle was impounded, and he was charged with driving while disqualified, set to appear in the Queenstown District Court on 4 April.
The other disqualified driver, a 37-year-old Auckland man, blew 600mcgs and was charged with driving with excess breath alcohol and driving while disqualified. He pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in court on 19 May. His vehicle was also impounded.
Multiple helicopter rescues
Helicopter rescue crews were kept busy with three callouts to various parts of Mount Aspiring National Park late last week – two on Thursday (6 March) and one on Friday (7 March).
A St John Ambulance spokesperson says a female visitor was also flown from the Mount Nicholas – Beach Bay Road at Walter Peak after being injured in a fall at 1.15pm on Thursday (6 March). She was flown to Southland Hospital and the extent of her injuries wasn’t available.
The same day parapenters were rescued from mountain tops, one airlifted to Dunedin Hospital with moderate injuries, and a patient had an accident near Mount Aspiring and was airlifted to Lakes District Hospital.
A climber fell five metres on the Matukituki Saddle in Mount Aspiring National Park just after 5.30pm on Friday (7 March) and was flown by a Queenstown rescue helicopter to Dunedin Hospital with moderate to serious injuries. A Rescue Coordination Centre spokesperson says the climber was winched onto the helicopter. RCC had received an alert from a personal locator beacon, sparking the rescue and a Wakatipu Alpine Cliff Rescue team crew was flown in on the helicopter.
There was another rescue helicopter callout to Mount Aspiring National Park on Tuesday (11 March) and a St John spokesperson says a helicopter airlifted a patient to Lakes District Hospital after a biking accident on Bush Creek Road, Arrowtown, around 12.30pm on Sunday (9 March).
FENZ encourages fire barrier planting
The Lakes Hayes Estate and Shotover Country Community Association is calling for interest on its Facebook page to start a native, low flammability tree planting project on the charred ground where a vegetation fire took hold on a hill overlooking the suburbs several weeks ago. The post says the fire has “left a large area that is ripe for planting and if volunteers help plant the hill it will prevent similar fires in future and reduce risk to nearby homes”.
Fire and Emergency Otago Lakes Group assistant commander Nic McQuillan says FENZ supports and encourages any positive initiatives like this by land administrators that promote planting of low flammability natives. He says it’s a good idea to check with the Otago Regional Council regarding its list of lower flammable plants or see fireanemergency.nz and ‘Check It’s Alright’.
Fire risk still above eight-year average
Meanwhile, fires are still prohibited in the Lakes area and the fire risk locally is currently above the average for the last eight years. “Even with the rain this week it’s still very dry,” McQuillan says. “If a fire starts it would spread really fast. We’re probably in the highest risk period now as the winds are coming up.”
