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Iris and John Bennett have raised the issue of the heavy-handed way police treated John one night in December. - Source: Fairfax
A Christchurch woman says she will never forget the fear of seeing her husband being forced by armed police to lie face-down, a rifle against his face.
"The humiliation and the fear was terrifying. I'll never forget it," Iris Bennett said.
John Bennett, 65, was allegedly pushed against a wall, searched and forced to lie flat on the ground outside his Burwood home on December 16 after he went to investigate suspicious noises and ran into a police cordon set up to catch an unrelated fugitive.
Bennett had been wearing only a light T-shirt and underpants, and had forgotten to take his glasses or shoes outside with him.
However, he went back to retrieve a child-sized baseball bat and a 36-year-old air pistol from under his bed.
Bennett, who has a pacemaker, ended up being charged with unlawfully carrying an air pistol and possessing a baseball bat with the apparent intention to use it to commit an offence involving the fear of violence.
The charges were withdrawn by police in Christchurch District Court yesterday.
Canterbury district commander Superintendent Gary Knowles said he was "quite comfortable" police actions that night were appropriate given the situation they had been presented with.
"They were faced with an unknown armed offender with weapons. You don't have time to look at their age - they're armed," he said.
"I think hindsight's a great thing. Some of those weapons do look like and replicate real weapons. You have to make a split decision in the dark."
The case had been reviewed by the police's legal team, which advised Knowles prosecution was unlikely to succeed.
The team considered Bennett's age, vision difficulties, lack of previous convictions and that his home was in the residential red zone, Knowles said.
"Nevertheless I would not urge people to arm themselves, even though it was a slug gun. You've got to put it in the context of what police officers are trained to do. It could have ended in the tragic circumstance where he was shot."
Speaking to media, John Bennett said he and his wife, Iris, had been on edge since last February's earthquake, when looters began targeting their neighbourhood.
When he heard suspicious noises on December 16, Bennett said he had pointed the air pistol towards the garage, away from where he heard a voice.
He put the weapons down after being asked, and stepped away from them.
"One [officer] said, `he's the owner of the house. He's no threat to us'," Bennett said.
But the other officer searched him, before asking him to lie on the ground.
He initially had his hands against his chest to stop the wires in his pacemaker injuring him, which he explained to the officer, but was forced to move them behind his back.
"He puts his right boot right between my shoulderblades and puts all his weight on me.
"Then he grabs my left hand and wrenches it behind my back. I can feel my pacemaker wires pulling."
Bennett was arrested and taken to Christchurch's central police station, still wearing only underpants and a T-shirt, and undertook a DNA test and fingerprinting over 3 1/2 hours.
At home, his wife noticed bruises over his back and left hand, prompting a visit to his doctor that morning.
He also went on medication to help with stress after the incident.
The couple were pleased the charges had been dropped, but the experience had caused them to lose their faith in the police.
They have complained to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Bennett said he wondered why the officers had not identified themselves.
"If they said it was the police, I would have gone inside and back to bed," he said.
Knowles said Bennett would have been supplied with alternative clothing if he had been in custody overnight.
Knowles urged people to call the police if they heard suspicious activity, rather than try to take matters into their own hands.
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