Threat to police for friend
The following defended case was heard by Judge D. Lowe of Wanganui in the Ohakune district Court on Thursday 14 April. Police sergeant Neil Coker appeared for the prosecution. Pauline Tina Taiaroa, 26, shed hand of Raetihi, appeared on two charges to which she had earlier pleaded not guilty. She elected to represent herself on one charge of behaving in a threat ening manner and one charge of obstructing a police constable in the execution of his duty. Both charges arose out of an incident which was alleged to have occurred outside the Ruapehu Hotel in Seddon Street, Raetihi, on 9/12/87. The first prosecution witness was Mr Ray parr, licensee of the Ruapehu Hotel. He testified that, following an altercation at the hotel at closing time that ev ening, he had called the local police station when he saw the 'situation' developing on the footpath outside. When police constable John Robinson arrived in response to witness' call they spoke together for a few minutes to assess the situation. Constable Robinson then approached Piki Pui (a friend of defendant and the subject of another Court Report) and witness heard Constable Robinson advise Ms Pui to leave the scene because she was believed to be inciting the others present. Witness told the Court that while he couldn't be certain of the exact details thereafter because he was being "kept busy with a kung-fu lady" he saw a number of people attack Constable Robinson.
While he could not tell who was responsible for the continuous stream of obscene language, one of those who attacked the constable was the defendant. The second prosecution witness was police constable John Robinson of Raetihi. He said that following the call from the previous witness he attended the incident outside the Ruapehu Hotel on 9/12/87. He assessed the situation and identified Ms Piki Pui as the main cause of the trouble. When he arrived her to leave the scene she immediately became aggressive and abusive and, following an assault on him, he attempted to arrest her and take her across the road to his police vehicle. Witness told the Court that when he was nearly half way across the road (Seddon Street), defendant Taiaroa came forward from the crowd, grabbed Ms Pui's arm and yelled for others to release Ms Pui. Witness said he warned defendant that she was obstructing a police constable, but
her response to that, according to witness was: "You're f dead, Cop". Giving evidence on her own behalf, defendant claimed that she had been sitting in her car outside the hotel when the licensee, Ray Parr, had "banned us". She said that when Constable Robinson arrived "we hassled him to find out why we had been banned from the hotel." When Judge Lowe
said that her (defendant's) evidence "is nothing like the facts we heard earlier from previous witnesses and bore no relationship to the events described", defendant replied that this was because he (P.C. Robinson) 'would not tell us what he had arrested her (Ms Pui) for." Judge Lowe replied: "Do you think a police constable has to tell
everyone who asks what an arrest is for?" Defendant: "No ... it was because she was my friend." Under cross examination defendant said that she had been drinking in the hotel "about an hour, earlier." She denied leaving the car to abuse the constable despite agreeing with his evidence. In his summing up Judge Lowe said that Turn page 13
Threat to police for friend
from page 5 "the only person who needs to know why he/she is being arrested is the person who is being arrested and not anyone else." "The events of that evening could have been very serious indeed and I must commend the action of the local constable, John Robinson". "It is very praiseworthy that he should have responded to the situation by attending in full uniform at a trouble spot outside the hotel at closing time knowing that he was the only police constable in the township."
Judge Lowe found the charge of intentional obstruction of a police constable in the execution of his duty proved but there was insufficieht evidence to substantiate a charge of behaving in a threatening manner ... "it was probably the drink talking." Defendant was convicted on the 'obstruction' charge and remanded to appear in the Ohakune District Court on May 12 for a community service report with the recommendation that she serves 120 hours. She was ordered to pay $32 witness expenses.
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Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 241, 3 May 1988, Page 5
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752Threat to police for friend Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 241, 3 May 1988, Page 5
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