Auckland candidate in fracas
Mayoral candidate said he confronted ‘drunk and/or . . . drugged’ driver
Auckland mayoral candidate Craig Lord and his son went to hospital with minor injuries after an altercation with what he called a “drunk and/or . . . drugged” driver near their home in Blockhouse Bay.
In a Facebook post on Saturday night, Lord said he had seen a car spinning its wheels in the rain before losing control, sideswiping his neighbour’s car and driving off.
He had gone doorknocking to find the culprit when he encountered the alleged driver, who Lord said was “drunk and/or heavy on drugs”.
“I asked if it was his car. He responded with a swing. Anyway, I wasn’t going to let that happen again so I took him down — hard. Let’s just say the ratio of hits was in my favour.”
Lord’s wife called police, while he, his son and two neighbours struggled to hold the man down while waiting for police.
They helped cuff the alleged offender who was taken away, Lord said.
“It took some work. The a ****** could’ve killed someone, but thankfully he only destroyed two cars and a power pole,” Lord wrote on social media.
Lord — who posted a photo of his bloodied face — said he had a new “battle scar” along with bruised ribs and scratches. He was “proud as hell” of his son who had bruises and tender ribs.
Lord told the Herald he had an idea of who the driver was as they often drove in a similar fashion on the dead-end street.
He expected the man to stop after hitting his neighbour’s car, but he disappeared — Lord later found out he had allegedly hit a power pole on
I asked if it was his car. He responded with a swing.
Craig Lord
Portage Rd in New Lynn, knocking out power to the area before running home.
“I was only coincidentally that I was knocking on his door when he ran up the driveway”.
It had taken four people to hold the man down as he was “thrashing and kicking”, Lord said. His son’s injuries came from getting kneed in the ribs, as well as a gash where one of the man’s toenails — poking out through a holey sock — had gouged his leg.
“We’re talking the movie kind of stuff that you see where guys screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs and going ballistically berserk.”
Once police arrived it took at least 20 minutes to calm the man down and get him into the car.
Police confirmed they were called about 4.50pm on Saturday to a Blockhouse Bay address after disorder was reported and “at least one person was
allegedly assaulted”.
Police said a 21-year-old man was arrested and faces charges of wilful damage, assault, careless driving and excess breath alcohol. He will face court next week.
Lord and his adult son were taken to get Auckland Hospital by ambulance. At the time Lord protested he would miss the Super Rugby final, but in retrospect he’s glad he didn’t see the Blues’ defeat by the Crusaders.
And he praised hospital staff who did an “outstanding job”.
The pair required X-rays on their ribs, and Lord’s forehead cut was glued back together — though he expects a “Harry Potter scar”. He had also been given a tetanus shot.
He also praised his son — a panel beating apprentice — for jumping in to help his dad until police arrived.
“Often you do see stories of people standing up as a community member doing their part, and I never ever thought I’d be doing that, but we ended up doing so.”
Lord is in the middle of his second run for Auckland mayor — he came third in the 2019 election.
A recent Ratepayers’ Alliancecuria poll had him in fifth place on 16 per cent, behind Efeso Collins, Leo Molloy, Viv Beck and Wayne Brown.
Following Saturday’s incident, he told the Herald his stance on crime was “firmly the opposite” of candidate Leo Molloy’s plan to fund a CBD police
station and set up a fund for businesses that had been hit by ram raiders.
“That’s not what ratepayers’ money is for, and that’s not the job of council . . . That is a central government issue,” he said.
But he supported Auckland Transport cutting red tape to make it easier to install bollards, and said council had a part in lobbying for more police and help from central government.
“You work with the police lobby for more police, and you do the normal politics — ‘We need more, we need more’ — but that’s the role of council, not actually providing a private police force or anything.”