Who wants to see a millionaire? Cops, says winner

Lotto winner Travis Hunwick says his Nissan Silvia S15 car and his black singlets and tattoos are making him a target for police patrols. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A million-dollar Lotto winner says police are picking on him because of his body art, black singlets and souped-up cars.

Travis Hunwick, of Glenfield on the North Shore, decided to treat himself to some high-performance vehicles after his big win last year.

He initially went shopping for a Porsche, but got a chilly welcome at the dealership,

"I went in with about sixty thousand bucks in my pocket and they said, 'I don't think we can help you'," he said.

"It was just because of my appearance."

Mr Hunwick finally settled on a 2001 Nissan Silvia S15 and, later, a 1970s Holden Monaro, for a total cost of $90,000.

Both vehicles have been legally modified.

But since his shopping spree, the 27-year-old says, he has been a target of suspicious police officers - and he is getting sick of it.

"I feel like I'm being victimised as a New Zealand citizen because I'm profiled amongst a group that are causing trouble," Mr Hunwick said.

"And it's because I've got visible tats on my shoulders and like to wear a black singlet. But that's what I'm comfortable in."

In the most recent incident, on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Hunwick was driving along Target Rd in Glenfield when he saw a patrol car.

"I was just cruising along and all of a sudden it was like 'boof' - pulled over again."

He said he got ready to pull over even before the police car's lights started flashing.

"When I see a cop now, my first reaction is to pull over because it's such a frequent occurrence. So I was standing in the car park waiting for him."

He said the officer checked the car was registered, warranted and legally fitted and found no fault.

North Shore police commander Inspector Les Paterson said yesterday that Mr Hunwick was not "a person of specific interest" to police.

"There have been some interactions with him, mostly relating to road policing issues, but none of those involved the police targeting him personally," he said.

"Mr Hunwick's profile falls substantially short of any threshold that would warrant close police attention."

But he was driving the type of vehicles that were often of interest to police.

"And it's conceivable that those cars, which for obvious reasons fall into the category of higher risk of non-compliance, would get a sizeable proportion of police attention," Mr Paterson said.

The commander said the incident on Wednesday afternoon came about because police patrols were sent to the area "following the report of a totally unrelated event".

"Mr Hunwick's timing and presence were coincidental."