Police response to assault complaint inadequate, says Mossburn woman

The alleged assault happened at the now-closed Brimstone Nightclub. Photo / Google Earth

A Mossburn woman has complained to the police watchdog over what she claims was an inadequate response by officers after she was allegedly assaulted in a Dunedin nightclub bathroom in February.

Naidene Brown, 26, visited Dunedin on February 17 with her partner to catch up with an old friend and enjoy a night out.

While waiting in the upstairs bathroom at Princes St nightclub Brimstone just before midnight, a Caucasian woman in her early 20s of medium-build pushed past her. When Brown said "Excuse me" to the woman, she allegedly shoved her to the ground and began stomping on her.

Another person, a Maori woman Brown described as "very thin", allegedly joined in the assault.

Brown, a chef, said the assault lasted several minutes, before a bartender entered the bathroom and broke it up. She said she could not stand up, had a large cut on her left leg inflicted by an assailant's stiletto shoe, and her left ankle had swelled significantly.

Brown said police interviewed several people, including her friend and her partner but did not ask her what happened, and failed to follow up later, as promised.

"The police officer didn't even ask me what happened; he just took my name.

"[He] said he'd be in contact with me later that week but I never heard from him again."

Brown spent the next three days in Dunedin Hospital after scans revealed her leg was broken in two places, among other injuries. Once she had returned home to Mossburn, she alleged police told her "there was nothing about [her case] on the computer". She said a police officer from Lumsden got in touch with her.

"[The Lumsden police officer] rung the day after seeing me and told me that they probably won't find who did it."

Doctors told Brown she would be able to return to part-time work after three months, and a full recovery would take at least six months. She had suspended her part-time studies.

She has now complained to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). alleging an inadequate response to her case.

"It didn't seem like it mattered."

The IPCA said it was making inquiries with police about the alleged assault before deciding whether to take Brown's complaint further. Brown said she was also disappointed police had not given her information about Victim Support.

A police spokesman told the Otago Daily Times the two officers who attended "spoke to the woman's friends and potential witnesses at the bar and there was no evidence the woman had been assaulted".

He suggested Brown file another complaint at a police station if she had further information.

Brimstone nightclub has since closed. Former owner Ian Lindsay said staff called an ambulance after the alleged assault. He understood two women had attacked Brown, but said "staff did not see anything". The women were allowed to leave the club before police arrived, he said.

"The two females were outside after but security couldn't hold them against their will."

Brown's friend, Dunedin woman Sam Wekking, said she told police she did not see the alleged assault because it happened in a bathroom. But she had no reason to doubt her friend's story, she said, citing the extensive injuries including the large cut on her leg, allegedly from an offender's stiletto shoe.

"How else could it have happened?"