Apology after alleged courthouse assault

The ministry had since acknowledged it should have engaged sooner.

A man who took a private prosecution against a court security officer, after allegedly being assaulted in a courthouse, says he only took the step after being ignored.

Manawatū court security officer Mat Olsson had a charge of assaulting Wayne Burrows dismissed in the Palmerston North District Court on Tuesday.

Burrows, who ran the prosecution himself, said Olsson assaulted him in the Palmerston North courthouse in July 2017.

The incident took place after Burrows started recording a conversation on his phone and ended with a physical altercation when he did not stop.

Audio recordings and security footage were captured and played at a judge-alone trial in 2020.

Burrows told the trial he wanted to check legislation to be sure of the legal power to stop him, given people can usually record any conversation they are a part of, but could not before he was detained.

The trial adjourned part-heard so he and the Ministry of Justice could resolve issues between them, which led to the charge being dismissed.

The ministry said it had no comment to make but Burrows said Tuesday’s result came after lengthy and constructive discussions and mediation with the ministry.

There had been many unsatisfactory interactions with ministry staff over the years, he said.

Those interactions led up to what happened with Olsson, with the prosecution taken against him because Burrows believed he had the best evidence available, he said.

The decision to prosecute was initially made after a considerable period in which the ministry would not engage with him about the incidents, he said.

The ministry had since acknowledged it should have engaged sooner. ‘‘I believe this would or could have stopped further incidents from occurring,’’ Burrows said.

He signed an agreement with the ministry, which recorded acknowledgement of and apologies for incidents involving excessive force used against him and force used when it was not permissible.

Burrows was still concerned police did not take legal action despite him making complaints, he said.