Papua New Guinea's police commissioner is urging the public to respect police officers and assist them in their duties instead of attacking them.
Papua New Guinea police commissioner David Manning Photo: Supplied
David Manning made the comment in the wake of the shooting of two police officers.
This week two members of the Mt Hagen-based Mobile Squad 5 were ambushed and shot by a group of more than 30 gunmen.
They are both now in critical condition.
Mr Manning said the public should not be attacking police as they were an arm of government tasked with protecting and serving the people of PNG.
Continuous attacks only hampered efforts to provide the full range of policing services people deserved.
The commissioner said the number of police attacked and killed had increased considerably over the last 10 years, which he described as "alarming".