Police handcuffed Atutahi and and removed her from the restaurant. Photo / TikTok
Police handcuffed Atutahi and and removed her from the restaurant. Photo / TikTok
The woman who was arrested at Tāmati Coffey's Rotorua restaurant says she "didn't do anything wrong" and expected that staff were "going to be kind" when she arrived without a vaccine pass.
Rotorua woman Puarito Atutahi says she was "discriminated against" because of her vaccination status after she was refused service at Our House for not having a vaccine passport.
Our House management said yesterday Atutahi's actions appeared to be a premeditated protest action and she had deliberately walked past clear signage.
Atutahi was a schoolteacher for 20 years, but lost her job because of the vaccine mandates.
She said she believes in "natural immunity" and healthy living, and has never been vaccinated.
"I thought that they would still let me in – a lot of restaurants are actually letting a lot of people in.
"I wouldn't normally go and force that, but I just thought, I've been a loyal customer for many years, I've spent a lot of money at this restaurant, sure they're going to be kind.
"I thought, surely they're not going to discriminate against me, because I'm a really healthy person, and if I was sick I would stay home."
Tim Smith, who co-owns Our House with his husband, Labour MP Tāmati Coffey, said today Atutahi only had herself to blame for the incident and the subsequent publicity.
He added that while she might claim to be fighting the Government over mandates, she was only hurting her own community.
Smith said her actions had been distressing for the team at the restaurant and his focus was on supporting them and making sure that customers felt safe so that he could protect local jobs in what was a "really difficult climate for hospitality".
Atutahi and a friend were asked to leave by staff but refused, preferring to wait for police to arrive.
Video shows the arrival of the police still did not prompt them to budge, instead leading them to attempt to argue the law with a masked police officer.
The officer attempts to explain that police are enforcing the restaurant's decision to trespass the women, as they repeatedly ask for documentary proof of this.
They go on to claim they are being discriminated against and have a "human right to go out to dinner".
Atutahi's friend then says she is going to step outside to call her lawyer, just as police move to place the woman under arrest for trespass.
Atutahi smiles at the camera as she is placed in handcuffs, before she is marched from the premises.
Police handcuffed Atutahi and and removed her from the restaurant. Photo / TikTok
Explaining her actions, Atutahi claimed the smile was a form of self-defence.
She said some had called her "arrogant" for smiling, but said this was a "self-protection mechanism."
"I'm smiling because these guys are actually arresting me, this is actually really really sad and embarrassing."
She said she sympathised with restaurants having to enforce vaccination laws because of her own job loss.
"I totally understand how they may be feeling, but at the end of the day, I'm standing for something bigger than me, bigger than them, bigger than the Government."
"I didn't do anything wrong."
'Calculated and deliberate'
Tim Smith told the Herald yesterday the incident appeared to have been designed by the women as a "calculated and deliberate" publicity stunt.
He said they walked past clear signage at the entrance and demanded to be served, showing aggressive behaviour.
They also targeted a group of youth volunteers who were at the restaurant celebrating their work on the successful Vax Vegas vaccination campaign, calling them "sellouts".
Other patrons were also reportedly targeted, with Smith saying the women referred to them as "sheep" and "less than Māori".
Atutahi disputed this - and said she has been subject to abusive comments herself, from other patrons.
Tāmati Coffey told the Herald yesterday the stunt was "uncalled for and out of line".
"Hospitality cafes and restaurants in Rotorua are doing it really tough right now," Coffey said.
"Stunts like this make it hard for our workers to do their jobs, but even worse, it puts our customers at risk too.
"I am calling on those people who think this is fun, to stop it."
Police told the Herald they attended Our House after they received a report of disorder.
"Police attended and advised two people that they were trespassed at the request of the lawful occupier," a spokesperson said.
"After being given reasonable time to leave and warned that they would be arrested if they did not leave, one person was arrested when refusing to leave. A trespass notice and formal warning was issued."
