Te Teko woman frustrated by police search of home, wants apology

A Te Teko woman wants a written apology from police after they executed a search warrant at her house in search of a stolen chainsaw she didn't have.

Leah Hepi was away from home on Tuesday morning when she checked footage from the security cameras at her house and saw four police officers entering her property and then her house.

A police spokesperson confirmed they had executed a search warrant at an address in Te Teko on Tuesday morning, in relation to a stolen chainsaw but would not apologise for doing so because the search warrant was legitimately carried out.

Hepi said the police had a warrant to search her home but claimed it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"They went in my house and they turned everything upside down looking for a chainsaw that we didn't even steal," she said.

"They accused us because a chainsaw went missing from Edgecumbe."

Hepi believed she and her partner drew the police's attention because they took a similar chainsaw of their own into a store in search of a new battery charger.

She believed the store employees got in touch with police, knowing a chainsaw had gone missing, which led to the police getting a search warrant and going through her house.

Hepi compared the serial number of the missing chainsaw, which was on the search warrant the police left at her house, with her own chainsaw and confirmed "they were totally different".

"Our chainsaw was in the shed and I saw them go in there on my cameras, but they must've not touched it."

A Te Teko woman's security cameras captured police officers entering her property to execute a search warrant. Photo / Supplied

She said the incident had left her feeling "pissed off".

"Nobody was home, they traumatised my dogs - my little one is still scared, she's a Jack Russell. When I touch her now she just shakes.

"I watched them go straight over my fence. I had no idea what was going on and felt like they were targeting me."

Hepi said the police involved called her partner later that day to apologise and said they were "only following protocols".

"I want a written apology from them for coming in and accusing us of something that we didn't even steal.

"How dare they do that? They straight away accuse us, it's no good."

A police spokesperson said the chainsaw in question was stolen from a roadside worksite in Edgecumbe on April 22.

"The search warrant was carried out after information was provided to police suggesting a possible person of interest in relation to the theft," the spokesperson said.

"A police officer spoke to the female occupant of the address, following the execution of the warrant. The officer explained why police were at the address and advised that we needed to speak to another occupant of the address in relation to our inquiries.

"The search warrant was legitimately carried out as part of inquiries into the chainsaw theft and as such there are no plans to offer an apology in relation to this matter."

The police encouraged anyone with concerns about the matter to contact them directly to discuss.

The police spokesperson confirmed the stolen chainsaw was not found during the search and inquiries were ongoing.

Anyone with information that could help the inquiries should contact police on 105 and quote event number 210421/6534.