Sought man sleeps through armed police raid on house

The subject of an armed offenders squad call-out in Dunedin slept through three hours of action as police tried to get his attention on Saturday night.

The squad was called to the Normanby suburb at 11pm after a woman said she had been assaulted by her partner and feared he might use a firearm, Sergeant Ed Baker said.

"The couple had just got back from the pub and a domestic incident had taken place."

Armed police tried for almost three hours to get a response from the man in the house. They stormed it after he failed to respond to numerous phone calls, calls on a loud hailer and even rocks being thrown on his roof.

"We got in and he was tucked up in bed, sleeping like a baby," said Mr Baker. "He was extremely drunk and hadn't heard a thing. I'm pretty sure all the neighbours heard, though."

Firearms were found in the house but they were still secured and the man held a firearms' licence.

A 47-year-old man was arrested and charged with assaulting a female. He will appear in court today.

- NZPA