Two people have been charged after a NSW police officer was stabbed and slashed with a makeshift spear while on a routine job in Sydney's southwest.
Constable Jacob Vella, 24, and his partner attended a property in Sadleir, near Liverpool, before 7am on Tuesday to arrest a 58-year-old man.
The plain-clothed officers were confronted inside the home by the man's 27-year-old son who allegedly stabbed Const Vella in the hand and slashed him on the neck.
The injured constable was rushed to Liverpool Hospital for emergency surgery where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
Assistant Commissioner Peter Thurtell said the weapon appeared to be homemade, comprising a steel shaft on the end of a wooden stick.
"It was a crude weapon," he told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
"We're hoping for the good and speedy recovery of the young police officer."
The alleged attacker was arrested at the scene and later charged with wounding to resist arrest and multiple charges of wounding, assaulting, obstructing and resisting an officer.
His 58-year-old father was also arrested and later charged with using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, assaulting an officer and the outstanding warrant.
They were both refused bail and ordered to appear at Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday.
The pair are known to police but not for violence-related matters, Mr Thurtell said.
Const Vella has been in the force since April 2017.
Mr Thurtell said this was the latest in a string of recent incidents where police officers have been threatened or wounded.
"It's a dangerous profession - but it's only dangerous because there are people out there who don't respect the police uniform and who think it's alright to attack police officers," he said.
"It's not alright at any stage to attack anybody."
Police Association of NSW president Tony King described the attack as "gut-wrenching" especially given the type of weapon involved.
"It's concerning to see incidents like this occur when police are doing routine jobs like arresting people for warrants," he told reporters in Sydney.
"There certainly seems to a rise in disrespect and assaults on police."
Mr King said there were 50 assaults against police every week in NSW on average.
Australian Associated Press
