Cop hit with axe as police allegedly assaulted in Daly River, Tennant Creek

An alleged attack in which an axe was thrown through the window of a cop car was just one of a series of alleged assaults targeting police at the weekend.

A police officer was injured after being struck with an axe on Sunday.

Two men have been charged after allegedly assaulting a police officer amid community unrest in Daly Rivers.

The police officer, who was sliced open by a flying axe after it smashed through the window of his patrol car in the community, was one of three cops allegedly assaulted while on duty at the weekend.

NT Police Commander Kylie Anderson said the officer and his partner were responding to reports of armed people driving around in stolen cars on Sunday evening.

One of them allegedly threw the axe at the police vehicle, shattering the window and injuring both officers inside, before striking one of them and causing a “laceration” to his arm.

Commander Anderson said additional police had since been deployed to the community.

“Thankfully, both officers weren’t seriously injured,” she said.

“It is a shameful act to harm a police officer who is simply doing their job and responding to calls for assistance from the community.

“Any attack on our members is taken incredibly seriously.”

The men, aged 24 and 25, were arrested on Monday and charged with aggravated assault, being armed with an offensive weapon at night, endangering occupants of a vehicle and recklessly endanger serious harm.

They will appear in local court on March 8.

A third person of interest has been identified and police are currently looking to locate them.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation within the community with the safety of community members and police our highest priority.”

Meanwhile in Tennant Creek, police arrested a 36-year-old man after he allegedly spat in one of their faces and kicked another in the face.

Superintendent Mark Grieve said the officers were called to a reported disturbance at a residence on Ford Crescent at about 8.40pm on Friday.

They found the man allegedly in breach of his bail conditions and it was while they tried to arrest him that he allegedly assaulted them both.

“Assaults on our members are completely reprehensible and will not be tolerated,” Superintendent Grieve said.

“Our members are on the front line every day serving and protecting the Northern Territory community, they don’t deserve to be assaulted for it.”

The man was charged with breaching bail and assaulting police and remanded to face the Alice Springs Local Court on Monday.

NT Police Association president Paul McCue condemned the alleged axe attack as “an appalling, reckless, and violent attack on hardworking members”.

“We will provide these officers all support necessary, along with other members who were assaulted in separate incidents over the weekend — including Tennant Creek where an officer was spat on, and another kicked to the head,” he said.

Mr McCue called for tougher sentencing options for people who assaulted police officers, saying the union’s members were “sick of being the government’s punching bags”.

“Imagine if this was the treatment our politicians received at work every day, kicked, spat on, scratched, weapons thrown at them, or punched to the head,” he said.

“Imagine if they had to go home to their families to explain their injuries each day, just for serving our community. Where is the outrage from government on this issue?”

Originally published as Cop hit with axe as police allegedly assaulted in Daly River, Tennant Creek