Mr Bennett was arrested and charged with carrying an air pistol "without some lawful, proper, and sufficient purpose'' and possessing an offensive weapon with an apparent intention to use it to "commit an offence which involved the fear of violence.''
After spending time in police cells, and facing several court appearances, the man - who has never been in troubled with the police before - has had his charges dropped.
At a Christchurch District Court hearing today at Nga Hau e Wha marae Mr Bennett appeared in the dock to hear the good news.
Police prosecutor sergeant Dave Murray told Judge Gary MacAskill that "the matter has been looked at and these matters have been withdrawn.''
Outside court, Mr Bennett spoke of his "relief'' at avoiding criminal charges.
He said: "I couldn't believe it got this far, but to have the charges dropped is a massive relief.
"I am glad that the police have finally seen sense.''
Mr Bennett warned the public to be wary if they hear noises at night, and pleaded with police to be careful when approaching homeowners at night.
"A lot of people I know has an iron bar, or cricket bat or something to protect themselves. But I wouldn't go outside: I would make sure the doors are locked and phone police straight away,'' he told APNZ.
"Other neighbours of mine have told me they've heard or seen police running through their properties at night, and most of the houses are now vacant. They shouldn't be allowed to just roam around like this.
"These police are so aggressive, and someone's going to get killed one day. They need to stop this activity - going through people's properties, armed at night and not identifying themselves.''
Mr Bennett said he initially went outside his house on December 16 after hearing voices and yelled: "Who's there?' And it went quiet. I said, `Look, you buggers, leave us alone. Clear off!'
``Again I told them to clear off, but nothing. So I went back to the door to phone the police. Just as I was opening the door, when I heard a noise in the driveway. I thought, 'Bloody hell,' so I grabbed a child's baseball bat sitting by the door and grabbed my old air pistol, which I bought about 35 years ago. Ever since the quake, it's been sitting under my bed.''
Mr Bennett said he went to a gate across his darkened, long driveway with the softball bat in one hand, and air pistol in the other, 'pointing to the ground.''
"All of a sudden, there's a torch in my face. This voice says, 'Whatever you've got in your hands, lay it down on the ground and step aside.'
"I thought it was the police, so I put them down and stepped to the side. I said, 'Are you the police?' But they didn't say anything.
"This chap grabs me and tells me to get up against the tin fence. He searches me. I asked what he was going to find in my undies.
"He tells me to lie on the ground, where there was a lump of bitumen and piles of liquefaction. I am 65, with a pacemaker, and I couldn't lie face down because of the wires of the pacemaker going up my shoulder.
"He kneels in the middle of my back and tells me to lie flat. I said I couldn't because of the pacemaker.''
Startled by all the noise, his wife Iris, 64, came to see what was going on. She was horrified to see her husband pinned to the fence with a dark figure "pointing a gun to his head.''
