Assault added to charges

Press, 26 July 1984, Page 25

Assault added to charges

PA Tauranga Slapping keys into the hand of an Auckland constable resulted in a punch in the mouth for a Tauranga man — then a charge of assault for the slap from the keys, a lawyer has said. The lawyer, Mr T. Balme, was giving his client’s version of events at an Auckland police station after the man was found with cannabis. The man appeared in the District Court at Tauranga on remand for sentence from Auckland where he admitted possessing cannabis, possessing a pipe for smoking cannabis, and assaulting a constable. Mr Balme said that a medical report made after the alleged assault-had accompanied a formal complaint to the police. He asked Judge Wilson to suppress the man’s name, because members of his family still at school, would “come under pressure” if his identity were published. The Judge made a final order for suppression and asked court staff to note that a complaint of assault was mentioned at the hearing. Mr Balme said that the man was passing through Auckland and decided to

sleep in his vehicle overnight For no apparent reason police searched the vehicle. They found a cannabis cigarette and a pipe. The man was taken to a police station where he was kept in a cell for more than two hours. When he asked if he could telephone a lawyer and his parents, he was refused, Mr Balme said. A constable put his hand through the bars of the cell and -asked for the man’s keys. The man, angry at his treatment, slapped the keys into the constable’s hand. The constable then entered the cell and

punched the man hard in the mouth, Mr Balme said. The man ran from the cell and tried to lock the constable in to avoid being assaulted further. However, another constable bundled the man into the cell, he said. The Judge said that whatever took place did not excuse the presence of drugs. He fined the man 5200 and sentenced him to 12 months probation for possessing cannabis, fined him 550 for having the pipe, and convicted and discharged him for assaulting the constable.