Two constables who encountered the man minutes after the 11pm incident recalled from the witness box this week what they characterised as “rude” and “generally belligerent behaviour”.
“He was difficult to deal with,” said Constable Ashton Dawber-Ashley, adding that the man smelled of alcohol.
“He said he wanted to speak to senior police officers only.”
The defendant said he had a contact at the police station who was a Detective Senior Sergeant. He tried to call the detective in front of the other officer.
“I believe it was an attempt to intimidate me at the scene,” Dawber-Ashley explained, to the objection of the man’s lawyer.
Supervisors did later attend the scene “due to the difficult nature of the defendant”, the constable said, but the detective the defendant was trying to call never answered the phone.
The defendant is also facing a disputed charge of failing to hand over the keys to his vehicle.
Constable James Martel said he ordered the defendant to hand over the keys to the Toyota Land Cruiser – which was by that point parked on the street just outside the courthouse where he’s now on trial – after noticing the defendant “appeared to be quite intoxicated”.
“He informed me he didn’t have the keys,” Martel said, explaining that he repeated the order after explaining to the defendant that refusing to do so was a crime.
He then conducted a body search after the defendant repeated that he didn’t have the keys, the witness said. The officer said he found the keys in the man’s left sock.
A breath alcohol test taken later at the police station found the man to have 685 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The limit for adults with no prior drink driving convictions is 250 micrograms.
The two constables who dealt with the defendant were the only witnesses called on Wednesday by police prosecutor Victor Wagner, who has finished presenting his case.
The defendant has also elected to give evidence but won’t do so until August, when the judge alone trial resumes.
Defence lawyer Nick Chisnall KC. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Neither Wagner nor defence lawyer Nick Chisnall KC opted to give opening statements. But Chisnall indicated to the judge at the start of the hearing that the principal issue for the defence case will be legal advice.
The defendant told officers repeatedly that he wanted to contact his personal lawyer, it is alleged.
When officers couldn’t get hold of that lawyer, police put the man on the phone with a duty lawyer. Later in the process, he was asked if he wanted to speak to a lawyer again.
“No, your lawyers are crap, mate,” the man responded, according to Constable Dawber-Ashley’s recollection.
“I’m not going to comply. Let’s get this going.”
He asked to retake the breath test, which is against policy, but refused a blood test, the officer recalled.
The defence suggested during cross-examination of the officer that he should have tried harder to contact the man’s preferred lawyer.
A note made by the officer at the time indicated he tried to call but got no answer.
He could no longer recall if he tried calling the lawyer more than once, the officer said, explaining that he didn’t make a note of how many times because it didn’t seem relevant.
The defence also played a longer version of one of the CCTV videos from just outside the courthouse showing roadworkers catching up to the defendant before police arrived.
A worker, thought to be the person who was hit but not seriously injured, immediately threw a punch at the businessman’s face.
Later in the video, three men in hi-vis could be seen surrounding the man. They did not attack him but pushed him back into the centre of the circle when he tried to walk away. The defence said it equated to “manhandling”.
Chisnall focused attention on the punch and asked to submit a list of the roadworker’s prior convictions, which included assault. He asked the constables why the roadworker was never charged with a crime.
Eventually, however, Judge Bonnar cut him off.
“I’m sorry, how does this help me?” the judge asked the defence lawyer.
“The dangerous driving, if it occurred, took place before the assault.”
Judge Stephen Bonnar. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Even if it is being suggested the Land Cruiser was driven at the roadworker in self-defence of a perceived danger, the defendant couldn’t have known anything about the roadworker’s criminal background, the judge pointed out.
“I can tell you, Mr Chisnall, I’m starting to lose a fair bit of patience in relation to all of this,” the judge continued, adding a short time later:
“Mr Chisnall, to be quite frank, I’m not going to be making my decision based on whether police should or shouldn’t have charged any other person for any other offence.”
The defence also asked police about a water bottle that was observed at the scene. No, the contents were not tested to see if it contained alcohol, the officers replied.
Chisnall insinuated his client could have been sipping alcohol from the container after he parked the SUV, resulting in his intoxication after exiting the vehicle.
The lawyer asked the judge for patience, explaining that his position will become more clear in written submissions to the court. They’re unlikely to be submitted, however, until after the August hearing.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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