Police tell motelier — follow that man
A Christchurch motel owner is furious after police were too busy to attend a burglary, instead asking the victim to follow the offender in a chase that lasted one-and-a-half hours.
The Addington City Motel owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Weekend Herald two men took a television and room key on Monday. After viewing CCTV footage, the owner posted images of the alleged thieves online in an effort to track them down.
The following day a local woman spotted one of them so the motel owner and his son raced to her street in an attempt to identify the man.
“Just as my son and I were getting there the guy hopped on to a bus. So I overtook the bus and stopped at the next station and my son got out of the car and got on the bus because we needed to verify it was actually the guy,” the motel owner said.
“As the bus was moving off, I phoned the police and told them he was on the bus. I kept updating them but she said they were far too busy . . . I said ‘What? There’s not one available cop in the whole of Christchurch?’ She said ‘It’s really busy in Christchurch at the moment’. And that was the same pattern each time I phoned.”
After getting off the bus, the motel owner’s son followed the alleged burglar into Rouges Bar, and waited for 30 minutes. He then followed the suspect to Riccarton Mall and Riccarton House Cafe.
By this time the suspect had spotted the son. Fearful, the motel owner rang police again and officers showed up about 10.40am, about one-and-ahalf hours after the first call.
The motel owner was furious at the response time, explaining the alleged offender was moments away from attacking his son before police arrived.
“It could have gone pear-shaped very quickly.”
A police spokesperson confirmed the incident and told the Weekend Herald it wasn’t unusual for police to ask callers to “assist” from a safe distance. Officers were attending other callouts at the time of Monday’s incident.
A man, 27, appeared in Christchurch District Court on Thursday charged with burglary and was remanded in custody to reappear on February 11. It is understood no other arrest has been made.