A Kaitaia pensioner saw a police officer desperately try to pick his collapsed partner up off the road after he was stabbed in a quiet residential street last night.
The 78-year-old Puriri Place resident said she had raced outside after hearing a commotion near her house after she had gone to bed.
As she walked down her driveway in her nightie she said she saw two teenagers running towards her direction headed for the end of the road.
"There was still kerfuffle going on there and another guy ran past me going like the clappers - he couldn't get past me fast enough - and I said, 'What the hell are you little b******s up to?' as he ran past me.
"And then I saw there were two guys and one was trying to get one off the ground. They tried and tried to get him up. I thought, 'At least somebody's with him so they can call whoever for help' so I didn't run to help in case there was more trouble.''
Far North Area Commander Inspector Wendy Robilliard said two officers arrived at the scene and spoke to three men who had been seen putting petrol into a stolen car.
"One of the officers went to arrest one of the men, when the man allegedly struck him on the head,'' she said.
The police officer tried to restrain the offender, while a second police officer tried to assist and stop the other two offenders from intervening.
"The offender managed to break free from the injured officer, who realised he had been stabbed.''
The elderly neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said she didn't realise that it was a police officer who had been injured.
She said there were a lot of people standing on verandas outside neighbouring homes at the time of the attack.
This morning police were canvassing the normally peaceful neighbourhood for information.
She said the incident was marked by a lot of "gruff shouting and arguing''.
Although the street was normally a peaceful neighbourhood the residents of the house where the incident unfolded had a reputation as a party house
The injured officer was taken to Kaitaia Hospital and then transferred to Whangarei Hospital for further treatment.
He was due to be discharged from hospital today.
A 17-year-old at a Kaitaia address had since been arrested for breaching bail.
"Police are now focusing on locating the man who assaulted the police officer,'' Ms Robilliard said.
A scene examination of the area was now completed and the stolen vehicle taken for forensic examination.
