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A man who was stopped by police and asked to remove bogus number plates - again, and who was then charged with failing to co-operate with police - says his behaviour was embedded in a family tragedy.
Luke Thomas David Shackleton, AKA Luke Orchard or “Living Man Luke”, had until yesterday been planning to defend charges of refusing to accompany police, failing to remain stopped and resisting police.
But in the Nelson District Court on Thursday he switched his plea to guilty in a sometimes emotionally charged speech regarding his reasoning.
“I wasn’t proud of the way I acted, but I didn’t want to admit guilt,” he said of his initial stance.
Shackleton, described as displaying a “sovereign citizen-type ideology”, arrived at court supported by his wife Rosy Orchard, who also acted as his McKenzie friend by guiding him through the process.
After failing to have the charges dismissed and hearing that the scheduled judge-alone trial would go ahead, Shackleton changed his mind and pleaded guilty to the charges.
Judge Jo Rielly commended defendant Luke Shackleton for his responsible approach in court.
He told the court how his actions toward police on September 16 last year had been partially due to a traumatic incident he and his wife had been involved in only weeks before.
They told NZME outside court they had been in Northland dealing with the aftermath of the death of Orchard’s mother’s long-time partner Neville Thomson, who was mauled to death by dogs at his home in Panguru in August last year.
Orchard said it had been a “horrific time”, and had influenced not only her partner’s behaviour when they returned to Tākaka, but the stance they took after his arrest to defend the charges.
They had intended to challenge a system they said “held people in perpetual poverty” and which was “often used as a weapon”.
Yesterday, however, they said they had felt part of a more human approach to justice that saw Judge Jo Rielly commend Shackleton for his responsible approach, and Shackleton then apologised to the police constable who’d arrested him as he left the courtroom.
He said he now felt comfortable saying he was responsible for what happened, but it was never his intention to refuse, resist or flee.
The 37-year-old was charged after a fracas with local police in the main street of Tākaka. He said up until then, he’d had a respectful relationship with police.
He’d previously had bogus number plates removed from the vehicle he was driving and was told more than once he had to get his vehicle registered, police prosecution said.
Luke Shackleton, aka 'Living Man Luke' with his wife Rosy Orchard outside the Nelson District Court. Photo / Tracy Neal
On Friday, September 16 last year, he was stopped by police again while driving through Tākakain a vehicle that had the fake number plate he’d been asked to remove earlier.
As part of the traffic stop, he was required to undergo a routine screening for alcohol impairment. Shackleton refused to comply with the mobile breath test and was asked to take a breath screening test immediately.
He refused to comply and was asked to accompany the police to the station for an evidential breath or blood test, or both.
Shackleton was warned he’d be arrested if he failed to accompany the officer and was then told he was under arrest.
As the officer opened the driver’s door to help Shackleton out of the vehicle, he slammed it shut and tried to start the ignition.
The pair then struggled over the keys as the officer tried to reach them through the open window, grazing his hand in the process.
According to the police summary of facts, Shackleton then turned on the ignition and the vehicle jumped forward before the officer was able to turn off the car.
Shackleton ripped the keys from the officer’s hand and threw them on to the floor.
As he was being removed from the vehicle, Shackleton began yelling to the public for help.
He was taken to the police station, where an evidential breath test showed a zero-alcohol result.
Shackleton told the court he reacted out of fear and a sense of needing to protect himself from the officer he had previously got along well with.
Judge Rielly said police were justified in taking the action they did, and she hoped Shackleton’s relationship with the officer would heal in time.
On each charge, Shackleton was fined $200. He was also disqualified from driving for a month.
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.
