A Dunedin police officer received medical attention after being heatbutted in the face by a wanted man in an abandoned building.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said police were called to a vacant building on Princes St, at 10.30pm last night.
Officers discovered four people in the building and one of them, a 34-year-old man, allegedly violently resisted when arrested.
‘‘He has headbutted the attending police officer in the face,’’ Snr Sgt Bond said.
There was ‘‘substantial swelling’’ to the officer but no broken cheekbone, and they received medical treatment.
Snr Sgt Bond said an officer being headbutted in the face was ‘‘very unusual’’.
Being punched and pushed were more common forms of assault police experienced.
Damage to the surrounding eye, nose and jaw areas could cause serious long-term injuries, depending on the severity, he said.
The man is appearing in the Dunedin District Court this morning on charges of assault to police, resisting arrest, unlawfully entering a building and breaching bail conditions.
Snr Sgt Bond said the building owner had ongoing issues with homeless people gaining entry and squatting on the site, which posed a fire hazard.
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