Man, 27, accused of punching Territory police officer outside Darwin nightspot

BLOODIED and bruised Constable Nick Carter was yesterday recovering from a brutal coward punch allegedly delivered by a Mitchell St punter

Constable Nick Carter shows the scars from an alleged attack outside Monsoons on Friday night. PICTURE: Patrina Malone

BLOODIED and bruised Constable Nick Carter was yesterday recovering from a brutal coward punch allegedly delivered by a Mitchell St punter who was refused entry to a nightclub only moments ­before the attack.

The alleged 27-year-old attacker is accused of punching Constable Carter in front of dozens of clubbers lined up on Nuttall Pl to enter Monsoons at 1.30am.

The man was allegedly swearing after being booted from the nightclub and punched Constable Carter as he attempted to arrest him for disorderly behaviour in public.

The force of the strike briefly knocked Constable Carter out and he couldn’t remember the punch or the seconds after.

The same man allegedly attacked his partner before he was subdued by Monsoons bouncers.

The 27-year-old man was charged with two counts of assaulting police, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

He is due to appear in Darwin Local Court tomorrow.

Constable Carter suffered two cuts and a black eye but scans cleared him of an eye socket fracture. With his wound stitched he recalled the moment he regained his ­senses.

“The first thing I do remember is I was kind of half bent over. It felt like I’d been hit with a bat or something like that, the force was that great. Not knowing what had happened I felt the pain in my eye socket,” he said.

“I brought my hand up to my face and I looked down and my hand was covered in blood.”

Constable Carter said the 27-year-old and another man were swearing in the street.

“We were just patrolling the city as we do to keep the place safe and free from trouble. We’ve come across two people that were refused entry to Monsoons and that took ­offence to that happening.

“They have approached us, began to carry on, swearing and became a bit more belligerent. They’d been asked on a number of occasions to move on and they refused to do that.”

Territory Duty Superintendent Brendan Muldoon said the attack was “alarming”.

“Police don’t come to work to have this sort of thing happen to them. While Constable Carter was working during the middle of the night, most people were safely tucked up in bed and he’s out there protecting the community,” he said.

“The injuries are very severe and had the potential for a much, much more severe outcome for him.

NT Police Association president Paul McCue said offenders found guilty of assaulting police should face mandatory jail time.

“We have seen similar types of attacks on people and they have ended up in a much worse state.

“This kind of cowardly unprovoked attack on one of our members highlights the dangers out frontline police officers face every day. The community should be disgusted by this act.

“We would expect that the penalty for this must act as a deterrent for this kind of act.

“We are thankful the officer is OK and it demonstrates the dangers they face.”