Police were called at 7am to find a 34-year-old man allegedly smashing up his ex-partner’s house and windows.
Senior Sergeant Mark Kirkwood, of Greymouth, said the man was also armed with a large hunting knife. When police went to apprehend him, he head-butted a police officer.
The man was overcome by the attending officers and arrested.
He faces charges of aggravated burglary, assault with intent to injure, threatening to kill, possession of an offensive weapon, resisting arrest and two counts of assaulting police.
The head-butted officer sustained an injury which required treatment, as did the offender.
"It was a volatile arrest," Snr Sgt Kirkwood said.
The alleged offender was not known to West Coast police.
The woman whose house was damaged was "extremely distraught" and police provided her with support. — Greymouth Star
By Meg Fulford