Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham accused of failing to stop for police
Graham Bloxham.
Photo:
Supplied
A Wellington mayoral candidate was arrested and charged with failing to stop for police in the central city on Friday.
Graham Bloxham, 57, runs the Facebook page WellingtonLive and told RNZ he was on his way to cover an incident involving "a distressed person" in The Terrace Tunnel, but found the road south blocked by police.
Bloxham - who announced in January that he is running for mayor in this year's local body elections - exited the motorway, but a police officer at the blockade thought he had seen Bloxham take a photograph while driving.
"He followed me up The Terrace off-ramp," Bloxham said.
Once he realised the lights were flashing for him, there was nowhere for him to pull over, so he did a u-turn on The Terrace and turned into a driveway, Bloxham said.
The police officer told him he had failed to stop and then slammed him against the car and cuffed him so hard it had to be re-done, he said.
He is due to appear in the Wellington District Court on 29 May, charged with "failing to stop for red and blue lights" on The Terrace.
Bloxham declined to confirm whether he would be laying an official complaint about his treatment, but told RNZ he expected the charge against him would be dropped.
Police confirmed a man was due to appear in the Wellington District Court on 29 May, charged with failing to stop.
When asked to respond to Bloxham's accusations, a police spokesperson said "anybody who wishes to make a complaint about police can do so through the appropriate channels".
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