Protester suffers flashbacks
Protester Anne Smith says she has to take medication to sleep since an encounter in March with Nelson City councillor Tim Skinner.
The 72-year-old great-grandmother was locked to a side door at Civic House on March 11 during an Extinction Rebellion protest against the council’s use of the weed-killer glyphosate when Skinner arrived.
‘‘I am a strong, independent woman,’’ Smith said.
‘‘However, his demeanour as he turned the corner to the vestibule – angry-looking, shouting and towering over me – was to the point I didn’t even recognise him. These actions have resulted in me having flashbacks to the domestic violence incidents of my early 20s – sleepless nights filled with thoughts of a dark place I thought I would never have to return to.’’
Smith said as Skinner came to the door, he ‘‘rushed at me, lowered his shoulder and pushed me with force’’.
‘‘All this is evident on [footage from] the NCC video camera above the door,’’ Smith said. ‘‘I have seen the video.’’
After a request from the Nelson Mail, the council yesterday released the footage.
‘‘Following multiple requests for the CCTV footage ... and given the substantial public interest in events of that day, Nelson City Council has today decided to release the footage,’’ the council said in a statement.
Smith said she believed that if she had not been locked to the door, she would have been knocked onto the tiles.
Along with a sore shoulder and a stiff neck, Smith said she ‘‘needed to return to the use of medication to allow me to sleep’’.
Since the incident, Smith said she felt nauseous when she left her home and needed to ‘‘talk to myself strongly to resist returning before doing what I came out for’’.
Skinner said he had seen the video. ‘‘I gave her a bit more of a push than I realised,’’ he said.
‘‘My intent was never to cause any issues, it was to get through the door.’’
Skinner said when he saw the footage, he thought ‘‘that wasn’t of a high enough standard and I do regret ... trying to manoeuvre her away from the door’’.
‘‘But there was no intent to cause any harm or grief.’’
Skinner said he denied he was shouting or standing over her. Nor was there a shoulder charge, as one witness had claimed, he said.
Smith said she believed it could have appeared to be a shoulder charge from the position the witness was standing.
‘‘I was trying to get to work,’’ Skinner said. ‘‘I apologise, I should have waited until police sorted it’’
He said he did not realise Smith was locked to the door.
‘‘I wasn’t happy that I wasn’t able to get in ... and I apologise, I shouldn’t have ... tried to manoeuvre her or push her to the side.’’
A police investigation followed the incident, which resulted in Skinner being issued ‘‘a written formal warning in respect of an alleged assault’’.
Police issued a statement saying a formal warning can be issued from the street or at a police station for a ‘‘qualifying offence that meets evidential sufficiency and public interest requirements set out in the SolicitorGeneral’s Prosecution Guidelines’’.
Skinner said he was ‘‘glad common sense has prevailed’’ and no charges were laid.
Smith said she was treated well by police who explained the significance of a written formal warning.