Lobbyist planned confrontation with police

Would-be lawyer Richard Lincoln deliberately set up a confrontation with police to prompt litigation to promote his views on firearms law, a High Court judgment says.

Timaru man Richard Lincoln took a case to the High Court in Christchurch over an incident on September 17, 2015, when he was driving from his home to Christchurch to deliver his Heckler & Koch semi-automatic to a gunsmith.

He was then a 54-year-old law student and eventually passed his exams but was rejected for admission to the bar.

Lincoln, a long-time gun enthusiast who advocated for the rights of gun owners, was entitled to have the rifle and had the required ‘‘E’’ endorsement on his firearms licence.

On the trip to Christchurch, Lincoln slung the gun over his shoulder to enter a service station in Timaru and the public toilets in Ashburton’s main shopping precinct. Police were alerted by concerned people in both towns and Senior Constable James Manning stopped Lincoln’s vehicle just north of Dunsandel.

Lincoln was arrested for obstruction, handcuffed and taken to a cell at the Ashburton police station. On his return home, two armed police officers were waiting and searched his home.

Charges against him were dismissed in late 2017.

At a High Court hearing earlier this year, Lincoln, who represented himself, alleged he had been falsely imprisoned, assaulted, unlawfully arrested and been the victim of trespass by police staff and malicious prosecution. Lincoln claimed he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder due to ‘‘evidence fabrication and tampering, arrogance, lies and deceit’’ by police who he claimed were either incompetent, dishonest, corrupt or vindictive.

In a decision released this week, Justice Peter Churchman said none of the claims had been made out.

The judge said he was satisfied Lincoln carried his gun openly ‘‘because of the particular views he held as to the rights of gun owners to openly carry their firearms, and the benefit of members of the public becoming used to seeing firearms being openly carried in public places’’.

On the balance of probabilities, the judge found Lincoln had acted in a manner designed to attract attention in the hope it would provide an opportunity to engage in litigation with the police ‘‘where he could once again demonstrate what he believed to be the incompetence or unreasonableness of police and his own superiority as an advocate for the rights of firearms owners’’.