Woman shaken after attack on officer’s home

Press, 11 December 1989, Page 6

Woman shaken after attack on officer’s home

PA Wellington An elderly woman was left frightened and shaking after a “gutless and cowardly” attack on a traffic officer’s house went wrong early yesterday morning. The Johnsonville community traffic officer, Murray Keinzley, said vandals attacked his patrol car with stones, caus* ing more than $6OO damage to the windscreen and bodywork. Then they threw stones through the windows of the house. But Mr Keinzley lives in the back of the house and it was his elderly landlady’s windows that were broken, not his own.

“Sneaking up at someone’s place at night is a pretty gutless and cowardly thing to do,” Mr Keinzley said. His landlady is in her 70s. “She was still visibly upset, even when I got home tonight,” Mr Keinzley said. “I’ve told her there’s some pretty sick people out there — but she doesn’t really understand.” Mr Keinzley said he was woken yesterday by his dog barking. “Then I heard a very loud crack, rushed outside and had a look but couldn’t see anything," he said. He said his landlady had been fright-

ened by the events. “She’s a really great landlady — and I feel as guilty as hell because it was her house that was smashed, and it’s her that is frightened now.” Mr Keinzley said he did not feel scared, just annoyed. He thought the attackers must have come from the district. The car was obscured from the road by a carport wall so the vandals must have known where he lived. “If it is a personal attack — if people have got a gripe about a ticket or something — then I expect them to come

up to me and talk about it.” The vandals had been doubly stupid because they themselves as taxpayers would have to pay for the damage, he said. Mr Keinzley has lived in the Johnsonville area for four years and has been a community officer for four months. He said a similar thing had happened to the previous community traffic officer about a year ago. Someone had deliberately crashed into the officer’s garage door, denting it and damaging his car. They had then driven off.