Unlawful arrest at the centre of trial against Whangārei man

When a fight broke out outside The Grand Hotel, a Whangārei man not involved in the fight found himself arrested. Photo / Tania Whyte

When police questioned a man sitting on a fence and asked for his details, it sparked a series of events that led to three hours in a cell, an alleged assault on an officer, and a trial two years in the making.

But his lawyer has put up a simple defence: police had no right to arrest him in the first place.

Now, Jamie Hoani Hiraka Lawry, 25, is on trial at the Whangārei District Court for disorderly behaviour, resisting police, assault on an officer and failing to provide particulars to police after he found himself on the sideline of a street fight.

On a routine night in March 2022, City Safe officers were patrolling near the Grand Hotel on Bank Street in Whangārei at around 1am when a fight broke out between two individuals.

Police were dispatched and on arrival, made their way over to one of the men who was reportedly fighting but now sitting on a concrete fence across the road, talking with Lawry.

By the time the police arrived, the man had calmed down but Lawry allegedly became aggressive towards police when they asked him for his details he called them “f****** liars”.

Constable Gary Hayes tried to defuse the situation by offering Lawry a ride home, which he declined.

Two more officers, Constables Dylan Palmer and Constable Stephen Curac, joined Hayes in attempting to calm Lawry who allegedly continued to behave aggressively and refused to provide his details.

Despite warnings of possible arrest, Lawry’s aggression led to his arrest for disorderly conduct.

Crown lawyer Danica Soich said officers grabbed Lawry by both arms, with a third officer grabbing him around the legs, lifting him in the air and lowering him to the ground.

In the patrol car, Lawry allegedly attempted to headbutt Hayes and upon arrival at the station refused to give his real name, providing a fake one instead.

When asked to comply with a search, he stripped off his clothes and refused to put them back on, forcing police intervention to move him into the cells.

Later, Constable Curac informed Lawry he would receive a warning and be taken home.

However, when they attempted to place him in the car, Lawry allegedly headbutted Curac in the left eye.

Lawry’s lawyer Victor Heather told the court the prosecution’s case was just a narrative.

“What is fact and what is fiction, we say there is a web of fiction,” Heather said in opening submissions to the jury.

Heather said the defence case was simple, the arrest was unlawful because Lawry was not in lawful custody at the time police pressed him for personal information.

“The shortcomings of the police is they have been captured by their own hands, mainly CCTV footage and the camera does not lie.”

The trial that was scheduled for four days had to be aborted on day two.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.