Police officer sustains serious injury following alleged sword attack at Port Augusta

A female police officer will be flown to the RAH after a man allegedly assaulted her with a sword during a disturbance at Port Augusta.

A man has been arrested after an alleged sword attack at Port Augusta.

A police officer in Port Augusta has suffered a serious arm injury after being allegedly attacked by a man with a sword.

Police were called to a house on High Street at around 10.40am on Saturday following reports of a domestic disturbance.

Upon arrival at the house, police will allege that two officers were confronted by a man who struck a female officer in the left arm with a sword.

Police detained the man using capsicum spray, as the injured officer was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

She was flown by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to the Royal Adelaide Hospital due to the nature of her injury.

A 30-year-old Port Augusta man has been arrested and will face several charges including assault of a prescribed emergency worker.

SA Police commissioner Grant Stevens said the violent nature of the incident had “shocked” police.

“Policing is an inherently dangerous occupation because of the nature of some incidents officers are called to, but an incident of this nature highlights the risk police face on a daily basis serving the community,’’ Mr Stevens said.

SAPOL Commissioner Grant Stevens. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Thankfully the officer’s injuries are not life-threatening and measures are being taken to fully support her and her family.”

Minister for Police Dan Cregan said that “any attack on a police officer is a disgrace which the Government utterly condemns.”

“The officer’s injuries are serious and the thoughts of every South Australian are with her, her family and fellow officers,” Mr Cregan said.

“We’ve backed in some of the toughest penalties in the country for those who target police, paramedics and other frontline responders and won’t hesitate to make further changes if required.

“Police work every day to protect our community and deserve to come home safely.

“Ongoing support will be provided to the officers involved.”

Shadow Minister for Police Jack Batty condemned what he called a “senseless and violent” attack.

“Enough is enough. We need a zero tolerance approach to cowards who attack cops,” Mr Batty said.

“The Opposition is introducing legislation to crack down on people who attack and injure our brave frontline police officers, including mandatory jail time.”

“I hope the government supports our tough new laws.”

The current penalty for assaulting an emergency services worker is a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Mr Stevens said police officers would be paying “particular interest” to this case as it goes to the courts.

The attack comes just weeks after an Adelaide woman walked out of court with a suspended sentence after being found guilty of scalping a pregnant police officer in an alcohol fueled attack in Rundle St in 2021.