Skate park attack: Facebook page targeted wrong man

Craig Platt. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A man who set up a Facebook page aimed at attacking the person charged with an alleged assault at an Auckland skate park at the weekend has deleted the page.

The Facebook page circulated contact details of Devonport's Art by the Sea owner, Mike Geers, who was initially believed to be involved in the assault caught on camera.

But Mr Geers was the wrong man.

The 25-year-old man who set up the page has now deleted it and expressed his lack of judgement in circulating contact details of Mr Geers, police said.

Mr Geers has been inundated with hate emails and text messages from people believing he was associated with, or was the person responsible for the attack, police said.

In fact artist Craig Platt has been charged with the assault.

Mr Geers laid a complaint with police and police have since spoken to the man responsible for setting up the Facebook page which circulated Mr Geers' details.

Police said Mr Geers, his family, and his art gallery had no direct relationship with the man charged.

This afternoon Platt confirmed a charge of common assault had been laid against him.

"My lawyer's now taking it over so it's a legal matter now, so I can't really comment on anything to do with it.''

He was not sure when he would be appearing in court, and said it was now with his lawyer.

"It's all just got to take its course.''

The incident, captured on video and uploaded to the internet, appears to show Platt pushing a teenager off his skateboard.

The youth was apparently getting in the way of `The Skinny & Serenity National Grom Skate Comp' at Victoria Park in the city.

Platt, whose child was among those competing, said after the incident that he was helping judge a part of the competition when things turned ugly.

"These guys turned up and they just kept cutting everybody off. They weren't in the contest. They cut several of the contestants off. One of them left the rock garden and whacked into a little tiny kid and just walked away.

"I asked them several times to stop. I got abused. They kept doing it - cutting people off - and that's when I stepped towards him. I hit him harder than I should have...it doesn't look flash. I was just trying to stop him.''

Platt said he apologised to the boy later.

Another man who witnessed the attack was also allegedly shoved by Platt after he began remonstrating with him over his treatment of the teenager.