A man was pepper-sprayed and arrested after going into the Whanganui police station and asking confused front-counter staff for his money back.
Murray Ronald Balsley "became extremely aggressive" after a woman working at the Bell St station told him she didn't know what he was talking about when he asked for his money.
The Whanganui District Court heard on Tuesday that Balsley began yelling and swearing. He also verbally abused another staff member who questioned him, police prosecutor Sergeant Rachel Willemsen said.
Officers told Balsley he was under arrest, but he backed away, saying he wasn't. He resisted arrest, refused to put his hands behind his back, and was eventually subdued after being pepper-sprayed.
When spoken to by police, he said the front-line support officer was "not very helpful" and he had just wanted his money.
Defence lawyer Jamie Waugh said Balsley had arrived to pick up money taken from a house during a search process, and "reacted badly" when staff didn't know what he was talking about.
"Things got fairly out of hand," Mr Waugh said.
Balsley was "nursing a few bruises and cuts" and had only just regained his vision after being sprayed.
Mr Waugh said Balsley hadn't committed any offences since 2011.
Balsley pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and behaving offensively.
Judge Dugald Matheson said Balsley had got himself into a "silly" position and sentenced him to 40 hours of community work.