\u201cAt the far end of the store, there was a woman lying on top of and totally smothering one of the workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the worker\u2019s hand had been cut by broken glass and there was blood around the store.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went straight over, made a beeline for her, and told her to get off.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had hold of the worker\u2019s hair. She wouldn\u2019t let go, and every time I tried to get her to release her grip, it just tightened. There was a lot of screaming, \u2018I\u2019m going to f***ing kill you\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worker was obviously in a lot of pain, and I was really concerned because I didn\u2019t know what her injuries might have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller said practising judo for a number of years helped him to restrain the attacker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought then that at least the situation is controlled. It\u2019s not going to get worse. She\u2019s controlled, she\u2019s prone. I kept talking to her, trying to de-escalate, and she did calm down somewhat.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe finally released her [the worker\u2019s] hair a couple of minutes before the police arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it was about 15 minutes from the moment he entered the store until the woman was arrested.<\/p>\n
He said the attacker was clearly distressed and had apparently violated her parole.<\/p>\n
\u201cA minute or so before the police arrived, we sat next to her, and she was sobbing by that point, had her hands over her face, and we were just sort of, I don\u2019t know, almost reassuring her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis woman shouldn\u2019t have done what she did. But who knows what her day-to-day is like? She was screaming, \u2018they\u2019ve just kicked me out. I\u2019ve got no home\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pharmacist in charge at Pharmacy 455, who didn\u2019t want to be named, told RNZ the woman started shoving their shelves, causing stock to fall down and glass to break.<\/p>\n
She said the woman became more aggressive after a colleague confronted her.<\/p>\n
She said it was \u201cquite traumatising\u201d for the staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty shocking, everything happened so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
The worker who was attacked did not require hospitalisation but was taking time off to recover at home.<\/p>\n
Staff were grateful to Miller for being \u201cvery brave\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman held on to the staff\u2019s hair and wouldn\u2019t let go. He was really good. He calmed her down, and she slowly released her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so glad he was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police confirmed they were called to a commercial premises on Mt Eden Rd at 11.40am on Wednesday after reports of a disorder.<\/p>\n
A 27-year-old woman is due to appear in the Auckland District Court on June 16, charged with threats to kill and assault.<\/p>\n
Kick Back founder Aaron Hendry, who works with at-risk young people in Auckland, said he was concerned about mentally unwell offenders not getting enough support after leaving institutions such as prisons.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are being discharged either directly into homelessness or into some very substandard, dangerous and unsafe accommodation where they don\u2019t have the capability to keep themselves safe, to keep others safe, or even to retain their tenancies.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany are ending up on the street as a result of that, and their illness escalates. They become more vulnerable and at risk both to themselves and to others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this country, what we\u2019re doing in terms of housing support for many of our most vulnerable is morally reprehensible.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said any violence or harm was inexcusable, but offenders needed help transitioning back into a community after incarceration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve sat with young men who have wept in tears and sat on the street after they\u2019ve done something that they felt like, man, I didn\u2019t have any control over that. They know they need help, they want help, but it\u2019s not there for them.<\/p>\n