A parking warden on the beat in Motueka was sworn at and then pushed to the ground by a woman angry she'd been given a ticket. Photo / Doug Sherring
When Misty Mikaere spotted a parking warden strolling along the street in Motueka she swore at her, and assaulted the woman for issuing her a ticket.
The 36-year-old has admitted an assault charge after the incident last October, and will now get to meet the victim face-to-face at a Restorative Justice meeting.
“She was only doing her job and didn’t deserve to be treated like this,” Judge Richard Russell told Mikaere in the Nelson District Court today.
On the afternoon of October 4 last year, the warden was walking along Pah St in Motueka near the Countdown supermarket when Mikaere saw and yelled out, “you f****** b****, you gave me a ticket”, then started to walk towards her.
The warden stopped at a pedestrian crossing before Mikaere followed her as she crossed the road.
Mikaere then grabbed the warden by the neck and pushed her to the ground, before Mikaere’s sister pulled her away and they left the area.
The warden ended up with a sore neck, similar to whiplash, she told the police.
Defence lawyer Emma Riddell asked for bail to be at large, given that the assault had happened last October and Mikaere had only just been charged.
Judge Russell convicted Mickaere and remanded her on bail for sentencing on June 7, to attend Restorative Justice, and to hear the victim’s views.
Lui Nifo paddled out to help with the rescue after the vessel hit a reef, the NZDF says.