He appeared in the Waitākere District Court today. Photo / RNZ
He appeared in the Waitākere District Court today. Photo / RNZ
A man accused of driving his car toward a National Candidate and his team has pleaded not guilty to all charges at the Waitākere District Court this afternoon.
Georgio Sutherland is facing five charges, including driving while disqualified, common assault, possessing cannabis for supply, behaving threateningly and failing to assist a police officer with a search.
His lawyer, John van der Zanden, entered not guilty pleas on all charges and elected for his client to have a judge-alone trial.
Community Magistrate Russell Bagley remanded the man in custody until early next month and scheduled a case review hearing in January.
The assault charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and the possession for supply cannabis charge holds a maximum imprisonment sentence of eight years.
Yesterday, a National Party spokesperson said the man drove towards New Lynn candidate Paulo Garcia and his supporters but swerved at the last minute to avoid them.
Police responded immediately, they said, and no one was hurt.
“He got out waving a [Labour New Lynn candidate] Deborah Russell hoarding. There’s no suggestion this incident is related to Labour,” the spokesperson said.
“It won’t deter our teams from continuing to run strong local campaigns.”
National's New Lynn candidate Paulo Garcia. Photo / National
A police spokesperson said yesterday the vehicle was reportedly driven towards a group of people campaigning on the side of the road.
“The vehicle stopped and the male driver got out, behaving aggressively, before pushing one of the people. He was arrested by police nearby a short time later, and the vehicle he was in was searched.”
A spokesman for Labour responded: “To the best of our knowledge, this is not anyone that is part of the Labour campaign. We completely condemn any attempts to intimidate people taking part in the democratic process.”
It’s the latest in a series of events where the safety of candidates has been highlighted, including Labour MP Angela Roberts being slapped after a political debate, National supporters being chased down the street in Manurewa and Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime being shouted down at a candidates’ meeting.
National has laid complaints with the police about gang intimidation and one alleged dog attack that left one person injured.
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
