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Home / Northern Advocate

Allegations of assault on police and excessive force unfold in Whangārei Court

Shannon Pitman
By Shannon Pitman
Open Justice multimedia journalist, Whangārei·NZ Herald·
12 Mar, 2024 04:39 AM4 mins to read

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The man said he did not assault a police officer the night he was arrested for fighting in public. Photo / NZME

The man said he did not assault a police officer the night he was arrested for fighting in public. Photo / NZME


A man’s night out culminated in a stint in the cells, yet the circumstances leading to his arrest are under contention in a trial where he refutes allegations of assaulting a female officer.

Daniel Bond, 29, has been charged with one charge of wilful damage, fighting in public, href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/nz-police/" target="_blank">resisting police and two charges each of assault on a police officer and refusing to give details.

Bond pleaded not guilty to the charges now being heard at a two-day judge-alone trial in the Whangārei District Court before Judge Philip Rzepecky.

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At around 2am on June 18, 2022 Bond was captured on CCTV, the footage of which was played in court, fighting with another man on the corner of Bank and Water St near Fox Bar.

Sergeant Craig Curnow, Constable Hannah Goodmon and Constable Kelsey Jellick arrived on the scene and reported they were trying to move Bond and the crowd on.

Bond was caught on a security guard’s bodycam, also played in court, repeatedly asking for Curnow’s QID number and saying “Give me your full Christian name”.

CCTV captured Curnow and Bond in inaudible discussions in the middle of the road before they moved kerbside and Jellick proceeded to walk towards him telling him to go home when Bond began to yell “Don’t touch me.”

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At this point the camera view was blocked by bystanders and police allege Bond bent Jellick’s fingers back which initiated his arrest for assault on an officer.

As Bond was taken to the ground he is heard saying “I do not consent,” and as he resisted arrest, was forced to the ground by Curnow, in what Bond’s lawyer Todd Luders claimed was excessive force.

Curnow said Bond swung at one of his officers and he had to enforce the execution of arrest.

Once back at the station, Curnow gave evidence Bond continued his argument of consent and told the court, “I wasn’t willing to listen to another 30 minutes of this.”

“I pulled him out of the car and as he came out he fell. It was my belief, he wasn’t going to get out of the car unless assisted,” Curnow said.

Curnow said he tried to help Bond up who was screaming “police brutality” and Curnow told him, “You should have listened or this wouldn’t have happened.”

Curnow told the court Bond was on his back in an upright position but then he kicked out at Constable Stephen Brown who reportedly grabbed his legs.

“Brown went to help and he lashed out with his leg, narrowly missing his face,” Curnow said.

“Did he react?” Police prosecutor Stu Wilkes asked.

“Yes, he leaned back and he nearly fell and took control of his legs, by kneeling and holding him,” Curnow said.

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“That’s when I held his head to make sure he wasn’t going to spit or bite.”

“He was on his front? How did he go from sitting to being on his front?” Wilkes asked

“In the time Brown was securing him, after he kicked out,” Curnow said.

During the detainment, officers gave evidence as they attempted to remove a taonga as part of police safety procedure, Bond refused calling Jellick “a f****** sl**” and allegedly taking a swing at her.

It is Bond’s defence the assaults on police never happened and when Luders questioned Constable Goodmon about the arrest, she stated she saw Bond bend Jellick’s fingers back.

Luders raised the issue that her notes differed from statements heard in the CCTV video.

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“The assault on Jellick never happened,” Luders put to Goodmon.

“That’s incorrect,” Goodmon responded.

“You made notes you arrested him for assault but in the video you can be heard saying you’ve arrested him for disorderly behaviour,” Luders asked.

“Yes, but that’s not what my notes say,” Goodmon said.

CCTV footage of the police station showed four officers holding Bond to the ground and Luders claims his client did not swing at Jellick with a closed fist but with an open hand in an attempt to retrieve his taonga.

Police also gave evidence Bond refused to give any details at the police station and had a previous record of this behaviour in Auckland.

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The defence will begin their case on Wednesday.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.




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