A Masterton dad was captured on video defending his property and petrified son after a burglar entered his property for the second time in two days. Video / Bradley Churchward
On Saturday, 43-year-old Bradley Churchward took matters into his own hands when an alleged burglar was sneaking around on his property a night after a spate of break-ins in his neighbourhood that spooked his son.
Churchward grabbed his baseball bat and confronted the man while on his front lawn, yelling “Hey mother f***er are you robbing houses around here again?”
During the incident the father made a split second decision defend his petrified son and property by hitting the alleged offender across the back and legs before the offender ran away.
This is the moment a Masterton father armed with a baseball bat confronted and hit an alleged burglar who had been snooping around his property.
Now the Masterton father is auctioning the bat he used in the incident on Trade Me to help fund the installation of a security system.
“I don’t have any security cameras at my house. With what’s been going on I thought it would be good to get something. I wouldn’t mind getting a set of cameras so I feel safer or make them visible so that they might not come on my property.
“My son is not feeling safe at the moment. I want to get something to reassure him we’re safe. He’s been asking ‘do you think they’ll come back?’ At least this shows him we’re doing what we can to stay safe without having to always take the physical approach.
“I’m not in a position to be forking out thousands so hopefully I can get something for it to put towards the cost of a security system. In my post I didn’t glorify what I did as I don’t want others to use it to do the same thing. But I’m hoping people see the light-hearted side of auctioning it off and that the sale can help me be safe in a better way.”
Churchward, who has since been dubbed the “people’s hero Batman” from Masterton locals, signed “Batman” on the baseball bat along with his signature and set the reserve at $1.
Bradley Churchward is auctioning off the bat to fund a security system.
He wrote: “Now is your chance to own the one and only bat used to ward off an evil villain!
“Proceeds will be used to fund better security etc to keep my property safe from more would be Villains.”
Kiwi dad with baseball bat fights off alleged burglar
Churchward’s actions didn’t come out of the blue.
The 43-year-old was on edge after his elderly neighbours were burgled on Friday night, the same night his 14-year-old son heard someone rummaging through their shed, putting the father on high alert.
“I was thinking, ‘Is this guy going to come back?’” he told the Herald. “My neighbours had been in tears after having their car broken into the night before. My son had heard rummaging in the shed as well.”
Worried it was a burglar, he told his son to hide under the bed while he grabbed his baseball bat.
Churchward could see the alleged burglar walking on to his property right under his son’s bedroom window.
Bradley Churchward said he hit the man twice in the legs and once on the back before the alleged offender fled the scene.
“My son was already quite scared. So my parenting instincts kicked in. Someone’s already been on my property. There he was walking up my footpath, a black thing around his face, right under my boy’s bedroom window. I had a split-second decision to make whether to confront the guy or not. So I grabbed the bat and ran outside.
“I was on my lawn... he hadn’t seen me. I popped out beside my letterbox and said, ‘Hey mother f***er are you robbing houses around here again?’
“He said ‘Eh, f*** off!’ Then he took a step towards me with his hand in his pocket. That’s when my instincts kicked in. I had a split second to defend myself. So I cracked him twice in the legs. I didn’t want to knock him out. I just wanted to give him a warning that he can’t come on my property and do this in our neighbourhood.
“He goes flying back... as he went to grab his phone that he dropped, I cracked him across the back with the bat. He runs off, and I jogged after him for a few seconds just to see where he went to.
“I don’t condone violence. I really don’t. Some people are saying I should have kept going. But I had to do enough to protect my family. I can’t let my 14-year-old son live in fear.”
The 43-year-old father said police arrived shortly after neighbours called them following the commotion.
Wairarapa Police Senior Sergeant and area response manager Gareth Barnes confirmed the incident, but warned the public to not take matters into their own hands.
“Wairarapa Police are urging members of the public encountering suspicious activities to contact police in the first instance and not to take matters into their own hands.
“Initial enquiries indicate the person who called police has assaulted the person who was allegedly acting suspiciously.
“Inquiries are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the Saturday night incident.
“Police are currently speaking to one of the individuals involved in the incident and would like to encourage the other party to come forward to assist with the investigation.”
The law states that people have the right to defend their property under the Crimes Act. However, it must not be excessive in terms of force.
Churchward says the footage shows he didn’t use excessive force. “I’m just a hard working average Kiwi bloke and I just wanted to protect my son.”
While he understands that hitting the alleged offender could land him in trouble, he has a message for anyone thinking of committing crime in his neighbourhood.
“Think twice before you do this, because you’re not always going to get a grandma.”
