Albert Park incident: Man whose alleged comments sparked Auckland CBD chaos appears in court

A man whose alleged “concerning comments” caused the evacuation of several central Auckland office buildings and saw police swarm Albert Park has appeared in court, charged with making a false statement.

Sean Clifford Nicholas, 52, appeared from custody via audio-visual link in the Auckland District Court on Thursday before community magistrate Jan Holmes.

Court documents state police allege the Orewa man made a false statement to a woman that “gave rise to serious apprehension for his own safety” and was reckless as to whether his actions would cause a wasteful deployment of police resources.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of three months in prison or a $2000 fine.

Sean Nicholas is taken into custody after allegedly making false statement to a woman that caused a massive police response to Albert Park. Photo / Dean Purcell

He is also charged with breaching his prison release conditions.

His lawyer Charle Megala did not seek bail for his client or seek interim name suppression. Nicholas was remanded in custody without plea ahead of his next appearance in the same court on February 16.

Sean Clifford Nicholas appears from custody in the Auckland District Court on Thursday morning. Photo / George Block

The previous day, an apparent stalemate between police and Nicholas in Albert Park caused widespread downtown disruption for about 90 minutes, as police established a cordon at either side of the park, buildings were evacuated and students at the University of Auckland were trapped inside.

A statement from police at the time said the operation was a response to a person who had made a number of concerning comments.

An officer in a hazmat suit and a gas mask over their face could be seen inspecting the area around the now empty wheelchair following the arrest. Photo / Dean Purcell

Nicholas uses a wheelchair and was seen being carried off by police towards a patrol car on Princes St about 2pm.

Footage viewed by the Herald showed firefighters approaching the scene wielding a hose before his arrest. A witness said Nicholas was blasted with water.

An officer in a hazmat suit with a gasmask over their face could be seen inspecting the area around an empty wheelchair following the arrest.