A teen who impersonated a police officer while questioning Rotorua Hospital staff is known by police as an “emergency services chaser”.
Joshua Stuart Avery made inquiries about a hospital staff member while dressed similarly to a police officer, driving a former undercover police car, parked in a police car park and carrying a police notebook.
The 18-year-old appeared in the Rotorua District Court on Friday to admit a charge of impersonating a police officer.
Avery was arrested after he went to Rotorua Hospital about midnight on March 6 and asked staff about a security guard who, he said, earlier laid hands on his girlfriend.
A police summary of facts released to the Rotorua Daily Post says Avery wore a pair of dark blue tactical pants that looked the same as police dog handler pants.
He was driving an ex-police vehicle — a blue Holden Commodore — which looked like an unmarked police car.
Avery parked the Holden in the police car park outside the hospital’s main entrance.
He told a staff member he needed the security guard’s details and presented a police notebook.
They asked if he was a police officer, to which he replied “Yes”.
Hospital staff refused his repeated requests to provide details about the security officer and called police after he drove off.
Avery denied telling hospital staff he was a police officer, claiming he replied “no” when asked, and said, “I am going to be a police officer”.
The summary said Avery was an active Bay of Plenty “emergency services chaser” who listened to a police scanner and filmed police attending incidents.
It said he had multiple social media profiles where he posted photos he took of emergency services.
There were multiple records of Avery attending a crime scene with his ex-police vehicle before the police attended.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of four months imprisonment or a $15,000 fine.
Avery was represented by Hussain Sabori, who asked Judge Ajit Swaran Singh to record the guilty plea but not convict his client.
Sabori said he intended to ask the sentencing judge to discharge the case without conviction.
He said Avery worked at Rotorua Airport in baggage handling and the blue pants he was wearing on the night he was arrested were part of his work uniform.
He said Avery was not purposely trying to be in police uniform or wearing an exact police uniform.
Sabori opposed a media application for a photograph in court and access to the summary of facts, saying publicity around Avery’s case could impact his job prospects as he was currently suspended from his airport role pending the outcome of the court case.
Sabori argued the gravity of offending was low and the matter was not in the public interest.
Judge Singh disagreed, saying court hearings were open to the public and the media were the eyes and ears of the public when there was a matter of public interest.
“The general practice has been to allow media to have access to information, which they need to report accurately.”
Sabori said the media publication was premature.
Judge Singh said in some cases he would accept that argument, but in this case, he said Avery was himself prominent in social media.
Sabori said his client’s interest in following police callouts was a hobby.
Judge Singh declined the application to take Avery’s photograph in court but allowed the summary to be released, saying it wasn’t likely to make his employability worse, given his employers already knew he had been charged.
He said it was in the public interest for the media to report the case as the public should be aware of people posing as police officers.
“Public interest outweighs the opposition to the media’s application.”
Avery will be sentenced in the Tokoroa District Court on May 28.
It’s not the first case of its kind in Rotorua. Last year, Luke Irvine failed in his bid to overturn two convictions for impersonating a police officer from 2022 and 2023.
He used flashing lights to pull a car over in one incident and broke up a fight claiming to be an off-duty officer in another.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.