Information regarding actions taken after call to Police about threatening behaviour

Hugh Davenport made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police

New Zealand Police did not have the information requested.

From: Hugh Davenport

Dear New Zealand Police,

I saw on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/cawgtn/p...) about an incident where a cyclist was talking to a motorist that had previously passed them dangerously, then stopped not far ahead. The motorist then threatened the cyclist with a nailgun that they had pulled from their car. The Police were called, and three armed (AR-15's) Police attended.
Neighbours to the incident also came forward as witnesses, claiming that the main had also threatened them in the past.
The Police ended up leaving the scene, with nothing more than a "stern talking to" to the man who threatened someone elses life.

I would like to request the following:
1. The Police notebook entries for the incident from the three attending officers
2. Any policies in the Police manual or elsewhere on how to react to threatening behaviour
3. Any policies on whether Police should take people holding weapons that have threatened people for their life into custody immediately
4. Any policies on whether Police should confiscate weapons being used in a threatening manner
5. Any policies on whether Police should take into account previous witness statements about threatening behaviour into account.
6. Any further actions the Police took in this incident after the day, including timelines, and whether an arrest ever took place.
7. If the officers did not follow the policies Police have for this incident, I would like to enquire what follow up those officers have had (suspension, remedial training, etc).

I remind the Police, that there are measures in the Crimes Act (section 306 and 307A) that are in place for dealing with threatening behaviours. I would like to ask whether it is the Polices opinion that it is to leave offenders with weapons in the same place as the victims and take no further action to ensure the safety of the public? Or do the Police only take action if someone is actually injured or killed? If so, are the Police taking actions to remove sections 306 and 307A from the Crimes Act?

The details of this incident are:
- near Kio road, Hataitai, Wellington
- on the day of 21st March 2019
- number plate of offender, CUJ385, blue station wagon

Post from facebook:
You'd think it's a nice afternoon to ride around the bays. Riding round Evans Bay parade on way home from work. Riding hard left, past parked cars & suffered a close 'punish pass' by speeding driver.
900m further up the road, turns out the driver has stopped & is a tradie, working on houses near Kio rd, parked on yellow lines across driveway.
I stopped alongside the driver, calmly & politely asked the driver if he could try to be a little more considerate with speed & passing space next time.
Driver immediately completely lost it, told me to f... off, starts confronting me, becoming really aggressive, swearing, swinging air punches inches from my head. I told him to calm down, trying to de-escalate but stood my ground but he persists with his tirade. Then he gets his nail gun out of the car boot & start threatening me, pointing the nail gun inches from my chest.
At this point I'm reaching for the phone telling him I'm calling the police. Then a few other tradies start coming out of the building site & they all start trying to corroborate their story while I'm getting a photo of the driver & his number plate.
Police were very prompt to respond, with 3 cops arriving with AR15s.
I gave a report & police spoke to the driver & building site foreman and gave him a warning/ stern talking to. I asked the police whether there are grounds to press charges given he's threatened me with both a vehicle & a nail gun. I doubt much will happen since they say he has no violent history on record.
One of the neighbours came out as a witness & told the police they saw him throwing punches & threatening me. Evidently they've had on-going problems with the tradies onsite & this man is aggressive & has previously threatened neighbours.
Police said they'll follow up later but suspect no further action will be taken. They told me I'd done the right thing to call them but I shouldn't have confronted the driver.
Seems they will only take action if someone injured.
Oh by the way, have only just returned to bike commuting this week, this my 3rd ride around town. Suffered a serious head injury 4 months ago when I was ran over by uninsured careless driver pulling a u-turn in Johnsonville. That driver is subsequently facing careless driver causing injury charges/ before the court.
Here's a photo of the offending tradie putting his nail gun back in the boot. Just in case you run into him on the parade.
Be careful out there people.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

Link to this

New Zealand Police

'Do not reply to this message, this email message has been sent from an
un-monitored email address'
Thank you for your email.
Information that may assist you is available through the following link:
https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publ...
Please email us again at [New Zealand Police request email] if we can help you any
further.
Regards
New Zealand Police
'Do not reply to this message, this email message has been sent from an
un-monitored email address'
-----Hugh Davenport <[FOI #9922 email]> wrote:
-----
To: OIA/LGOIMA requests at New Zealand Police <[New Zealand Police request email]>
From: Hugh Davenport <[FOI #9922 email]>
Date: 25/03/2019 12:43PM
Subject: Official Information request - Information regarding actions
taken after call to Police about threatening behaviour

Dear New Zealand Police,
I saw on facebook (
[1]https://www.facebook.com/groups/cawgtn/p...)
about an incident where a cyclist was talking to a motorist that had
previously passed them dangerously, then stopped not far ahead. The
motorist then threatened the cyclist with a nailgun that they had pulled
from their car. The Police were called, and three armed (AR-15's) Police
attended.
Neighbours to the incident also came forward as witnesses, claiming that
the main had also threatened them in the past.
The Police ended up leaving the scene, with nothing more than a "stern
talking to" to the man who threatened someone elses life.
I would like to request the following:
1. The Police notebook entries for the incident from the three attending
officers
2. Any policies in the Police manual or elsewhere on how to react to
threatening behaviour
3. Any policies on whether Police should take people holding weapons that
have threatened people for their life into custody immediately
4. Any policies on whether Police should confiscate weapons being used in
a threatening manner
5. Any policies on whether Police should take into account previous
witness statements about threatening behaviour into account.
6. Any further actions the Police took in this incident after the day,
including timelines, and whether an arrest ever took place.
7. If the officers did not follow the policies Police have for this
incident, I would like to enquire what follow up those officers have had
(suspension, remedial training, etc).
I remind the Police, that there are measures in the Crimes Act (section
306 and 307A) that are in place for dealing with threatening behaviours. I
would like to ask whether it is the Polices opinion that it is to leave
offenders with weapons in the same place as the victims and take no
further action to ensure the safety of the public? Or do the Police only
take action if someone is actually injured or killed? If so, are the
Police taking actions to remove sections 306 and 307A from the Crimes Act?
The details of this incident are:
- near Kio road, Hataitai, Wellington
- on the day of 21st March 2019
- number plate of offender, CUJ385, blue station wagon
Post from facebook:
You'd think it's a nice afternoon to ride around the bays. Riding round
Evans Bay parade on way home from work. Riding hard left, past parked cars
& suffered a close 'punish pass' by speeding driver.
900m further up the road, turns out the driver has stopped & is a tradie,
working on houses near Kio rd, parked on yellow lines across driveway.
I stopped alongside the driver, calmly & politely asked the driver if he
could try to be a little more considerate with speed & passing space next
time.
Driver immediately completely lost it, told me to f... off, starts
confronting me, becoming really aggressive, swearing, swinging air punches
inches from my head. I told him to calm down, trying to de-escalate but
stood my ground but he persists with his tirade. Then he gets his nail gun
out of the car boot & start threatening me, pointing the nail gun inches
from my chest.
At this point I'm reaching for the phone telling him I'm calling the
police. Then a few other tradies start coming out of the building site &
they all start trying to corroborate their story while I'm getting a photo
of the driver & his number plate.
Police were very prompt to respond, with 3 cops arriving with AR15s.
I gave a report & police spoke to the driver & building site foreman and
gave him a warning/ stern talking to. I asked the police whether there are
grounds to press charges given he's threatened me with both a vehicle & a
nail gun. I doubt much will happen since they say he has no violent
history on record.
One of the neighbours came out as a witness & told the police they saw him
throwing punches & threatening me. Evidently they've had on-going problems
with the tradies onsite & this man is aggressive & has previously
threatened neighbours.
Police said they'll follow up later but suspect no further action will be
taken. They told me I'd done the right thing to call them but I shouldn't
have confronted the driver.
Seems they will only take action if someone injured.
Oh by the way, have only just returned to bike commuting this week, this
my 3rd ride around town. Suffered a serious head injury 4 months ago when
I was ran over by uninsured careless driver pulling a u-turn in
Johnsonville. That driver is subsequently facing careless driver causing
injury charges/ before the court.
Here's a photo of the offending tradie putting his nail gun back in the
boot. Just in case you run into him on the parade.
Be careful out there people.
Yours faithfully,
Hugh Davenport
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #9922 email]
Is [New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using this form:
[2]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[3]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

show quoted sections

Link to this

From: Hugh Davenport

Dear New Zealand Police,

Thanks for that automatic reply. I will however not fill out your online form, and you will be required to respond to this OIA via FYI as required by law.

Perhaps you should update your automatic reply to not suggest that you won't accept legal requests...

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

Link to this

From: Online Forms - New Zealand Police

Your request has been sent and Police will respond as soon as possible.
Thank you for contacting New Zealand Police.

*** Note: This is an auto-generated response. Please do not reply to this email. Replies are not delivered ***

Here is a copy of your submission for your records.
Submitted on Monday, 25 March, 2019 - 15:48

Submitted values are:

District or Police National Headquarters (PNHQ): Wellington (including Lower Hutt / Upper Hutt / Porirua / Masterton)
First Name: Hugh
Middle Name(s):
Family Name: Davenport
Email: [FOI #9922 email]
Contact Phone Number (daytime):
==Information you are requesting==
What information do you require?
I would like to request the following:
1. The Police notebook entries for the incident from the three
attending officers
2. Any policies in the Police manual or elsewhere on how to react
to threatening behaviour
3. Any policies on whether Police should take people holding
weapons that have threatened people for their life into custody
immediately
4. Any policies on whether Police should confiscate weapons being
used in a threatening manner
5. Any policies on whether Police should take into account
previous witness statements about threatening behaviour into
account.
6. Any further actions the Police took in this incident after the
day, including timelines, and whether an arrest ever took place.
7. If the officers did not follow the policies Police have for
this incident, I would like to enquire what follow up those
officers have had (suspension, remedial training, etc).

Police reference number:

Preferred delivery of Police's response: email

Link to this

From: Hugh Davenport

Dear New Zealand Police,

Given this is now overdue, and the Police rarely ever respond to follow ups, I have reported this to the Ombudsman.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

Link to this

From: MAUNDER, Renee
New Zealand Police


Attachment image001.png
10K Download

Attachment IR 01 19 8450 DAVENPORT Signed Response.pdf
668K Download View as HTML

Attachment Davenport Hugh IR 01 19 8450 response 2 signed.pdf
71K Download View as HTML

Attachment Police Manual chapter ARREST.pdf
282K Download View as HTML

Attachment Police Manual Chapter BEHAVIOUR OFFENCES.pdf
1.9M Download View as HTML

Attachment Police Manual Chapter TENR.pdf
503K Download View as HTML


Good afternoon

 

Please see attached.

 

Ngā mihi

 

Renée

 

 

Renée Maunder

Senior Advisor

Ministerial Services

 

P +64 4 470 7119

DDI 44419

E [1][email address]

 

[2]wordmark transparent

 

 

 

 

 

 

===============================================================

WARNING

The information contained in this email message is intended for the
addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be
subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which
creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you
are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this
message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this
message or any of its contents.

Also note, the views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect
those of the New Zealand Police. If you have received this message in
error, please email or telephone the sender immediately

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Link to this

From: Hugh Davenport

Dear MAUNDER, Renee,

Thanks for that. For 1, 6 and 7, is there a way you can release *some* of that information, and just redact the personal information? My purpose is to determine what action the Police took, and the blanket refusal doesn't tell me much. I understand there is always two sides to any story, and currently I only have 1 which is the cyclists. I would be interested in the Police's side, and would hope that the Police would be happy to clear up any misimpressions that the public may have.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Davenport

Link to this

From: MAUNDER, Renee
New Zealand Police

Good afternoon

We would need a waiver or a request from a person involved in the complaint. I understand that at least one person involved has chosen to make some details public, but that does not constitute a waiver of their right to privacy.

I do not believe it is in the public interest for people who have exercised their right to criticise any government agency to then have their information made public by that agency. You have the right to ask the Office of the Ombudsman to review this decision if you are unhappy with it.

Ngā mihi

Renée

Renée Maunder
Senior Advisor
Ministerial Services
 
P +64 4 470 7119
DDI 44419
E [email address]
 

show quoted sections

Link to this

Things to do with this request

Anyone:
New Zealand Police only: