Brad Flutey (left) and his McKenzie Friend, former lawyer Vinay Deobhakta, outside the Whangārei District Court. Photo / Sarah Curtis
Brad Flutey (left) and his McKenzie Friend, former lawyer Vinay Deobhakta, outside the Whangārei District Court. Photo / Sarah Curtis
A Northland anti-mandate advocate who fought off police as they tried to arrest him for refusing to wear a mask in a liquor store claims he was acting in self-defence.
Brad Raymond Flutey was pepper sprayed and tasered three times during the January 17 skirmish caught on CCTV which isnow before the courts, as the one-time political candidate defends charges including disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest.
Flutey, accompanied by a McKenzie Friend, former lawyer Vinay Deobhakta, told the Whangārei District Court the assistant manager of the Tikipunga Liquorland had no reason to phone police that day.
The 35-year-old said police had no reason to arrest him, that he was exempt from wearing a mask, was only trying to assert his legal rights around that exemption, and he was not behaving in a disorderly way.
Flutey, who stood initially for the Outdoors Party before standing unsuccessfully for the Social Credit Party in Northland in the 2020 general election, claimed the store's strict mask policy that customers either wear a mask, show an exemption or leave, defied a guideline from the Ministry of Health.
The ministry's website states: "If you are a business, you have a right to query whether people are exempt but should do so appropriately and be aware that no one is obliged to share personal information with you.
"If someone tells you they are exempt, it is best if you take them at their word," the website says.
Brad Flutey (left) and his McKenzie Friend, former lawyer Vinay Deobhakta, outside the Whangārei District Court. Photo / Sarah Curtis
The assistant manager phoned police about 4.15pm after Flutey failed to comply with the store's mask policy by refusing to produce a mask exemption.
He had a verbal altercation inside the store with two constables who arrived before getting into a physical struggle outside.
During the altercation outside, he was tasered twice by one of the constables but the shots from the electric weapon were too close and failed to incapacitate him. He then tried to run off.
After the second failed taser, an off-duty detective who happened across the scene, used Constable Evan Howie's taser to successfully incapacitate Flutey from behind.
Flutey was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on police, resisting arrest, escaping police custody, disorderly behaviour, and trespassing. His trial is in front of Judge Philip Rzepecky.
The police prosecutor said while the incident was sparked by the mask dispute, it was Flutey's behaviour towards police that led to his arrest.
Police relied on the CCTV footage, footage from the taser cameras, a download from a social media site, and the evidence from the store's manager, assistant manager, a store worker, two passersby, Constables Howie and Stephen Brown, and Detective Andrew Hunter.
The store's manager Lance Popata said he was not there the day of the incident but had served Flutey on two earlier occasions despite the store's mask policy – just to "get him out of the store and avoid a problem".
He came across as "a really nice guy". He was definitely argumentative but not aggressive, Popata said.
"After the second time, we called a few of the government agencies to get clarity about what we could do because he had shown us legislation and I needed to make sure," the manager said.
"We were told it was lawful to make customers wear a mask and we should phone police if it happens again."
Brad Flutey was supported outside the Whangārei District Court by a large contingent. Photo / Sarah Curtis
Flutey put it to assistant manager Mihi Hohepa that contrary to advice on the Ministry of Health site, she did not take him at his word about the mask exemption.
She said she couldn't find that information on the website and had followed the advice earlier given over the phone by the ministry.
Flutey referred to Section 21 of the Human Rights Act, which sets out prohibited grounds of discrimination and Section 49 of the Privacy Act, which protects an individual's right to refuse access to information.
He asked her whether she thought the store's policy overrode that legislation, to which she answered yes " 'cos you're putting us at risk".
The two passersby Donald Robertson and Scott Harrison described Flutey as being combative with police.
They said he kicked Constable Brown twice with such force he fell over backwards.
Flutey put it to them they did not know what prompted the incident or the pain he was in from being tased.
He said Harrison was too far away to see what was really going on and noted Robertson was a former police officer.
Detective Hunter told the court he got involved after Brown's final unsuccessful attempt to tase Flutey.
Howie conceded under cross-examination he was wrong in his earlier allegation that Flutey snapped the wire on the taser probes the second time he was tasered and that he threatened to use it as a weapon saying: "Now what? You're f****d now or something to that effect".
When shown footage from the taser camera, Howie agreed Flutey instead threw the probe to the ground, backed away, and repeatedly said "Bugger off!"
Thursday's hearing ran out of time and the case was adjourned until later this year.
