Concern has been aired about "such an escalation in such a short time" for a man who caused chaos on Invercargill streets with a home-made sword this year.
The 24-year-old local man appeared in the Invercargill District Court this week on charges of wilful damage and assaulting a police officer.
He has interim name suppression until mental health screenings are completed.
He broke almost all of an internal door, damaged a wall, kitchen cupboards and a chair.
Court documents stated when police arrived the defendant was "belligerent and argumentative".
While he was being escorted to the police car, he headbutted an officer in the side of her head.
Last month, the man was sentenced for offending in February, when he chased a member of the public with a home-made sword, threatened police and damaged cars with the weapon.
"I’m concerned we’ve got such an escalation in such a short time," police prosecutor Carmen Stewart said.
Judge Duncan Harvey asked the man’s father if he knew what was causing his son to act this way.
The father said he had been trying to access mental health resources for his son for years and had sought professional help shortly before this offending.
The judge convicted the defendant of wilful damage and added conditions not to consume alcohol or non-prescribed drugs to his existing intensive supervision sentence.
The outcome for assaulting the police will be determined in August, after mental health assessments have been completed.
