Police acted in error — judge

Press, 3 October 1979, Page 4

Police acted in error — judge

I PA Wellington! The police had acted on a mistaken understanding of their powers, Mr Justice Ongley has said in the Supreme Court at Wellington when he quashed four convictions. He allowed an appeal by' Ivan Paul Lodge, aged 24, a driver, against conviction in the Magistrate’s Court on charges of assaulting two constables in the lawful execution of their duty, resisting another constable, and escaping from lawful custody. The police had been called to a tavern by the management because of damage to the premises by one or more I unidentified patrons and be- ■ cause of threatened reprisals | against the manager in rejspect of some other events, his Honour said. The appellant had not (been involved in those activities, but when the police ari rived one of them had been ; subjected to verbal abuse by (him and he had attempted to tip the constable's helmet 1 off his head. ■ The constable had sumimoned the assistant manager

1 land had asked him to (request the appellant to 1 leave. The appellant had not : been charged with drunk- ■ enness, disorderly conduct, 1 or obscene language, which . might have arisen from his conduct, his Honour said. The justification for the 1 use of force against him must be found — if at all — 1 in the provisions of the Sale 1 of Liquor Act, which im- . posed an obligation on a . licensee or manager to admit I any person and supply him with liquor unless there was reasonable cause for not I doing so. The assistant manager had II no quarrel with the appel- ■ Slant. But at the instance of • i the police he had suggested s I that the appellant should • I leave the premises. , j “The appellant was entitled to use a reasonable : 1 degree of force in resisting the force to which he was (unlawfully subjected, and as 11 his detention was also unilawful he committed no oL fence in escaping from it,” Ihis Honour said. Mr J. J. Cleary appearrd ■ for Lodge, and Mr J. H. C. ■ Larsen for the Crown.