Police with guns near the cordon on Buckingham St, Whakatu. Photo / Michaela Gower
Police with guns near the cordon on Buckingham St, Whakatu. Photo / Michaela Gower
Armed police surrounded a home in Hawke’s Bay, and told one person they thought was inside to come out because “we have you surrounded”.
But that request, through a loudspeaker that rang out around Buckingham St at Whakatu today, proved to be in vain.
“Please exit to the backof the address. You are safe. We are not leaving,” neighbours said they heard the police negotiators call out from a van with the speaker on top.
It turned out the person had already exited.
At 2.58pm, a police spokesperson confirmed they had moved on and cordons had been stood down, with the decision made to focus their efforts to find the person elsewhere.
But by 12.30pm, most of the police on the scene had shifted their focus to Essex St, a block away, before dispersing again.
Armed police had been at the scene since mid-morning. Photo / Michaela Gower
There was heavy rain in the small settlement north of Hastings, with outside temperatures a chilly 8C.
The people of Whakatu largely carried on with their day despite the disturbance, with a rubbish truck driver continuing his collection through the stand-off.
A staff member at nearby David Trubridge design studios said they noticed about 10 officers and seven patrol cars in the area from 10am, grouped at the Station Rd and Ngaruroro Rd intersection.
“A bunch of police cars and the K-9 unit and cops were all armed surrounding a house on Station Rd,” the staff member said.
