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Home / New Zealand

Terror, shock for Masterton blind woman

By Cherie Taylor
Wairarapa Times-Age·
28 Aug, 2013 07:14 PM4 mins to read

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UPSET: Cheryl Daley-Nooroa (right) is comforted by neighbour and best friend Melissa O'Donnell after armed police stormed her home.PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

UPSET: Cheryl Daley-Nooroa (right) is comforted by neighbour and best friend Melissa O'Donnell after armed police stormed her home.PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

The terrified screams of a blind woman rang out as armed police stormed her home during a drug operation.

Cheryl Daley-Nooroa, who has been blind for many years, said she was in bed just before 8am yesterday when police stormed her bedroom and a police dog jumped on her bed, frightening her.

"I was screaming 'I'm blind, I'm blind. What's going on?"

Her cries went unheeded, the shaken woman told the Times-Age.

"It's not right. What if I'd been an old woman? They shouldn't treat people like this ... I know they have a job to do but they need to be more careful ... there were armed offenders squad surrounding the whole house ... they told me an informer had told them there were guns in the house."

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Police say they were aware of Ms Daley-Nooroa's condition and went "over and above" to inform her what they were doing.

The search warrant issued for the Montgomery Pl home states police were looking for a .22 bolt action rifle, cannabis plant material, cellphones, a "tick list" and self-sealing plastic bags.

Ms Daley-Nooroa said it was the seventh warrant served on her in the past three years - despite no previous searches uncovering anything.

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The police had found a few drug utensils this time but nothing else and she had not been charged. "They have never got drugs from my house."

But Ms Daley-Nooroa wants to ensure people with disabilities are treated with more respect than she feels she received by police. "If they'd knocked on the door, I've had told them there are no firearms. I'd have let them in."

Her neighbour, Melissa O'Donnell, said she tried to reach her friend, who she heard screaming across the road.

"She was over there by herself. She's blind. I asked them to let me over there but they said no. I said 'she'll be freaking out' but they said no ... there were cops everywhere."

Ms O'Donnell's son, Teremoana Mootai, said he approached police after his young sister told him his aunty was screaming for help but they also wouldn't let him go to her aid. Police blocked the cul-de-sac off during the raid. "I said to them, 'you are scaring me, so you must be scaring her"'.

Police say they took into account the woman's situation during execution of the search warrant - one of many undertaken around Masterton yesterday as police searched homes for drugs and firearms.

Detective Sergeant Barry Bysouth said police needed to secure the property during the raid and knew about Ms Daley-Nooroa's condition prior to entering the home.

"We went over and above with her because of her condition ... she was handed a copy of the search warrant as part of police policy," he said.

Police talked her through the warrant because she was blind, leaving a copy behind, the detective told the Times-Age.

If the public was concerned about behaviour of police they needed to make a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), Mr Bysouth said.

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However, Ms Daley-Nooroa feared if she made an official complaint it would be turned on her. "I'm scared they might interrogate me," she said.

Meanwhile, police executed five search warrants across the wider Wairarapa district yesterday.

Wairarapa police area commander Inspector Brent Register said the warrants were issued after information received from the public had been investigated. Between eight and 10 police were involved in the raids. "We have made a number of arrests and issued summons."

A summons requires a person charged with an offence to appear in court.

He said they made no excuses for warrants being issued more than once for the same property, stating it was about keeping the community safe. "We act on information received that is a risk to the community because we need to keep the community safe ... we will continue to execute warrants to stop that criminal behaviour."

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