A Judea Rd woman, who the Bay of Plenty Times agreed not to name, said she was stunned to see the “massive” police presence with 20-plus officers, including up to a dozen Armed Offenders Squad members, when she looked out her gate.
“I thought to myself, ‘holy s***, what’s happening’. There were at least five to six police vehicles and police with guns everywhere.
“Oh my gosh, there was also a hazmat truck parked on Robins Rd, and as police officers were coming out of the property, they were going through the hazmat decontamination showers.”
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The mother said she saw a handcuffed man and a woman seated on a grass berm. They also went through the hazmat showers.
She said her son, who has autism, called her after being stopped at a cordon as he rode home from 10-pin bowling about 7pm.
Fire and Emergency assisted with the operation.
“My son told me ‘Mum, Mum, I can’t come home, the police won’t let me’. No one was allowed up Judea Rd and the top of Waihi Rd.”
She said she explained the situation to an AOS member, who warned that she, her husband or their son could face arrest if they breached the cordon.
“We were ordered back to our property,” she said.
Police cordoned off Waihi Rd and parts of Judea Rd in Tauranga last night.
“The police weren’t telling us the reason for the huge presence, and we had no idea how long it would be before our son could come home.
“It was stressful, scary and quite daunting.”
She said eventually she and her husband managed to persuade police to allow their son to be escorted home.
The woman’s husband said that when he tried to go looking for their son, he was turned back by the police.
“I certainly now understand there was a good reason why the police didn’t want our son to enter an active police scene, and their actions were clearly to help safeguard him and other residents.”
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The road cordons remained in place until about 10pm and police guarded the scene overnight.