Whakatāne yacht owner who alleged he was assaulted by council staff warned by police

Steve and Rachel Wright with their yacht on the hardstand at Whakatāne Wharf. Photo / Brianna Stewart

A yacht owner who alleged he was assaulted by council staff at the Whakatāne boat ramp in May has been warned by police.

A recent report to Whakatāne District Council’s finance and performance committee said both an internal investigation within the council and the police case had now been closed.

“Whakatāne Police investigated the matter and had no significant findings regarding the staff or contractors’ conduct,” the report said.

Whakatāne Police Senior Sergeant Helen Hay confirmed the file was completed and the member of the public who laid a complaint of assault against the council staff had been warned for his behaviour.

No warnings were issued to council staff or contractors following the investigation, Hay said.

Steve Wright laid an assault complaint after an altercation with a council contractor and two council staff members which ended with his arrest and hospital treatment for a dislocated thumb.

The altercation occurred after a council staff member asked Wright and his wife Rachel to stop work on their yacht, which had been on the council-owned hardstand at the Whakatāne boat ramp for a week.

The hardstand is available for rent but must be booked in advance. Wright told Local Democracy Reporting he had submitted application forms before having the yacht lifted into the cradle, but did not receive a response.

Wright said when they refused to stop work on their yacht the man left and returned with two more people who took the power cable for his tools.

When he “fronted up to them”, he alleged he was held on the ground by two of the men while a third man took hold of his hand.

It was during this altercation he claims his thumb was injured.

Wright said after reviewing CCTV footage of the incident police had encouraged him to make a complaint and taken a statement about the incident.

However, he said several weeks later he was phoned by police who told him he was as much at fault as the council staff and contractor and no one would be charged.

Wright said the explanation for what he had done wrong was that he had not listened to the council officers.

He said he had not received any paperwork or documentation from police about a warning. He had understood from the conversation with police that all parties were going to receive warnings.

“We were tempted to go to the station manager and ask for an explanation but in the end we just said ‘thank you very much’ and decided that we were going to close any and all contact with the police and the council.”

Rachel Wright said they had seen one of the men in town recently.

“It just opened up a flood of memories,” she said.

Steve Wright said: “I just got out of there because my anger was rising very fast.”

His dislocated thumb was still very painful, but he had recently been able to resume going to the gym after more than a month off, he said.

“There was quite a bit of soft tissue damage but nothing broken.”

The report to the council committee said: “Police issued a formal warning to the member of the public in relation to this incident. It was determined that communication and approach from both parties could have been better.

“The council staff and contractor involved in the matter have been through a lessons-learned exercise and have also attended situational awareness training.”

The couple’s yacht, meanwhile, has been mostly repaired.

“We’re happy with it. There’s lots of jobs to do on it. We’re excited about where we’re going to go on it.”

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.