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Daniel Takimoana was sentenced to prison after threatening police with a flounder spear during a dog seizure.
A jury found him guilty of multiple charges, including obstructing police and possession of an offensive weapon. He was found not guilty of breaking an officer’s leg.
Judge Tony Snell highlighted Takimoana’s lack of co-operation and the escalation of events leading to his sentencing.
A man who threatened the police with a flounder spear when they arrived at his house with the SPCA to uplift his dog was tasered and pepper-sprayed, and now he is in prison.
This week, Daniel Takimoana shouted over the judge during sentencing via video link from the Nelson District Court, seemingly still in denial of a jury’s verdict over events on two separate occasions, in 2022 and 2023.
Central to what occurred was a dog named Porotu, which the SPCA sought to seize to allow it to be examined by a vet.
It was said to be suffering from a “significant skin condition” and other medical issues that required examination.
Violence erupted when the SPCA and police arrived at Daniel Takimoana's house to seize his dog after a complaint about its state. Photo / 123RF
The arrival of the police with the SPCA at his house in March 2022 led to an initial set of charges that arose from Takimoana’s “angry” and “elevated” response.
He was pepper-sprayed when he wielded a flounder spear at the police and then managed to pull out the wires after he was tasered.
A jury later found him guilty of obstructing police, threatening behaviour towards a police officer, possession of an offensive weapon (a flounder spear), threatening a police officer with grievous bodily harm, and aggravated assault on a police officer.
Daniel Takimoana became agitated at the dog being taken and was highly abusive to SPCA staff and police. He was pepper-sprayed and tasered as a result. Photo / NZME
A year later, in March 2023, when a large contingent of police arrived at his house on an alleged bail breach, Takimoana was further charged and later found guilty of resisting police.
His lawyer, Stephen Zindel, said police arrived in large numbers, having formed the view that a major police presence was needed, and “yanked him from his home”.
Takimoana was found not guilty of injuring with reckless disregard, and what Zindel described as “the most serious matter” of allegedly breaking a police officer’s leg.
He was also found not guilty of aggravated assault when he was alleged to have put a police officer in a headlock.
Judge Tony Snell said Takimoana’s lack of co-operation since, including in the pre-sentence process that might have been to his advantage, had left him “the author of his own misfortune”.
Takimoana was led away from the dock in the Manukau District Court, from where he appeared via video link, still shouting.
Judge Snell said, in summarising what had occurred, that in March 2022, two SPCA inspectors went to Takimoana’s address, accompanied by police officers.
Takimoana immediately became agitated at the dog being taken, and became highly abusive to the SPCA staff and the police.
Judge Snell described him as “intimidating and highly aggressive”, refused to allow the dog to be uplifted and accused the SPCA and police of “stealing” the animal.
Takimoana was warned multiple times that he would be arrested, and then repeatedly threatened to “waste” one of the constables.
When he still refused to comply, the police pepper-sprayed him and pointed a taser at him.
Takimoana then picked up the flounder spear and thrust it at the police, who then tasered him.
He was to have been sentenced last December, but Judge Snell adjourned the case to allow Takimoana to take part in the pre-sentence process.
However, a memo from probation services to the court indicated he felt he was being “coerced” by the court to take part.
He declined to take part in any interviews, so no report was available, Judge Snell said.
The judge said aggravating features related to the threats to police officers who were doing their job in trying to ensure the peaceful uplift of a dog, under a warrant.
“This was escalated by you much more than it needed to be.”
The use of a weapon was another aggravating feature, which could have led to serious injury, he said.
From a starting point of 20 months in prison, he arrived at 14-and-a-half months after credits were applied for the time Takimoana had already spent on electronic bail.
Takimoana was granted leave to apply for home detention if a suitable address was found.
In February 2024, the Nelson District Court ordered Takimoana and his partner to comply with a care plan for Porotu, or have the dog put down before that decision was taken out of their hands.
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.
