A man has been sentenced for stealing body armour, a uniform, a baton and pepper spray from Auckland's old Central Police Station. Photo / NZME
A man has been sentenced for stealing body armour, a uniform, a baton and pepper spray from Auckland's old Central Police Station. Photo / NZME
A man who burgled an Auckland police building - walking off with body armour, a uniform and weapons - said his only intention that night was to post a photo to social media of himself dressed as an officer.
Judge Kathryn Maxwell sentenced Parnell resident Tahu Mikaere Brown, 28, to six months’ home detention today for the short-lived heist, which Brown’s own lawyer described as spontaneous, unplanned and “possibly one of the worst executed burglaries ever to have been committed”.
Brown, who was diagnosed in recent years with schizophrenia, briefly laughed from the dock in Auckland District Court as the poor execution of the crime was recounted.
He could have faced up to 10 years in prison for burgling the Old Central Police Station, located at the corner of Vincent and Cook Sts in central Auckland. Responding to a query from the Herald shortly after the arrest, police noted that the building no longer served as an around-the-clock operational police site. It was decommissioned as a jail several years ago as operations moved to a new building.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Tony Joseph noted in court today that there were still sensitive documents and other police items stored in the building, which had a swipe card system for entry.
Brown’s lawyer, however, described the building as “barely secure” - noting that her client was able to get inside simply by pulling on the door without any tools.
Brown entered the building about 10pm on a Sunday in October last year, while Auckland was still in lockdown, and went directly to a room containing the items. He left about two minutes later with three police-issue stab-resistant body armour vests and a bag containing a police uniform, a baton and capsicum spray.
About 10 minutes later, while on nearby Mayoral Drive, witnesses spotted him trying on some of the items.
Initially, Brown was also charged with impersonating a police officer, but that charge was withdrawn, his lawyer said, because “there was never really a possibility a member of the public could confuse him as a police officer”. He was described as wearing slider shoes, track pants and two body armour vests with a puffer jacket over top. He was also giggling and two witnesses described him as looking homeless and possibly high.
A man allegedly entered the old Central Police Station through a side door. Photo / Google
He told the witnesses that he was taking the uniform home to wash it for a colleague.
Police, who had already spoken to him once that night for an incident in which he used his elbow to break a reception area window at a hostel, were able to quickly identify their suspect. When they arrived at his home later that night, Brown cooperated and handed them the pilfered items.
“Mr Brown’s intention at the time was that he had the foolish idea to put on a uniform and take a photo for social media,” explained Susan Giles, his lawyer.
“It’s something he very much regrets.
“It is such bizarre offending, and it is typical of his history.”
Giles acknowledged her client had a long history of dishonesty offences, but most of the previous convictions were before he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and put on medication, she said.
“He’s now getting a steady monthly injection of the medication and he’s doing extremely well,” she said.
Judge Maxwell agreed with the defence that the burglary was unsophisticated. She said she must take into account the building was no longer a working jail and there was no suggestion Brown had any intention to use the baton or the pepper spray. While there’s no evidence that Brown’s schizophrenia caused the crime, his mental health struggle should be taken into consideration, she said.
She increased the sentence due to other offending but made reductions because of his guilty plea and because he has already spent the past 14 months on electronically monitored bail with a 24-hour curfew.
In addition to the burglary charge, he received a concurrent sentence of four months’ home detention for possession of a restricted weapon. Shorter concurrent sentences were doled out for the broken window, as well the theft of groceries in July 2021 and the theft of two televisions in February 2022. He was caught immediately after each of the other theft attempts.
Brown also made an at-times half-hearted bid for permanent name suppression, briefly interrupting the hearing at one point to say he may no longer want suppression before having a brief discussion with his lawyer and announcing he did still seek it.
“He’s worried about his name being in the paper and the article making him look bad,” Giles explained, adding that she also had concerns about how the publication of his name might affect the progress he’s made with his mental wellbeing.
Police argued against suppression, with Joseph noting that the resolution of the case was of public interest and there was no evidence before the court that it would affect his mental health.
Fear of looking bad in the media isn’t one of the grounds under which the law allows secrecy, he added.
