Prayer starts a brawl

By JAMES GARDINER

An Auckland man says he was beaten and thrown out of the Otara Country Music Club because he said grace before supper - in English.

Police were called but refused to take any action, says John Steed.

He has now been told he is banned from the neighbouring Manurewa Country Music Club.

Mr Steed, a member of the Onehunga Country Music Club, was expecting to go on stage after supper to sing and play 12-string guitar.

But he objected to grace being said solely in Maori and decided he would say it in English for his girlfriend, Merrilyn Hardaker, the Onehunga club president, "and the other Pakehas who were there".

But when he did, several men attacked him, he said, including Bob Katipa, president of the Manurewa club.

"They said, 'You're not allowed to do that. We've already said grace, thank you', and then they started belting me up."

Mr Katipa told the Weekend Herald he did not touch Mr Steed and had 70 or 80 witnesses.

"He's a bloody idiot," Mr Katipa said, "He was in the company of a lot of Maori and it's customary for us to say grace before a meal.

"At the top of his voice he yelled out, 'Why don't you speak bloody English'."

Mr Steed said he was grabbed by the throat, punched in the head, thrown to the ground and kicked in the back as the men forced him out of the community hall in Otara's town centre.

Mrs Hardaker, a primary schoolteacher, came to his aid and called police from a nearby burger bar.

Mr Steed said several police arrived but after they spoke to someone at the door of the club, Sergeant John Yearbury, of Manukau's emergency response group, told him they were not going to do anything more.

"They looked at me, they heard my friend's statement, they heard my statement, I was able to identify the people concerned, all the detail ...

"He came back and said, 'Don't worry about it, Mr Steed, we're not doing anything about this'."

Mrs Hardaker said she believed Mr Steed had been assaulted, although she did not see him punched.

"I did see people being intimidating in front of him and he was retreating. I got a bit separated.

"Outside he was running away, then he was on the ground and they were on top of him - at least three men, possibly four or five.

"I do [believe they assaulted him] because I've seen the bruises."

Mr Katipa said Mr Steed "tripped over his own two feet. Now he says he's going to take me to court."

Manukau police spokeswoman Angeline Barlow confirmed that officers spoke to people at the scene but decided that no further action was required.

Mr Steed said he was shocked. "I'm sick and tired of the ignorance and attitude of these people in authority."

A week later, he and Mrs Hardaker tried to attend the Manurewa club but were refused admission by Mr Katipa.

"He said I was going to cause trouble."

Mr Katipa confirmed he had issued a trespass order banning Mr Steed from the premises for two years.