Mataura couple upset by forced evacuation
A Mataura couple who were forcibly removed from their home during the flooding say they returned home to find 15 of their poultry chickens had died.
Pensioner Chris Couzens, 69, and his wife, Linda Couzens, 60, were arrested by police and escorted off their property after they refused to evacuate and leave their animals behind.
They claim they were assaulted by police but do not intend to lay a formal complaint as it would be ‘‘more trouble than it’s worth’’.
Police arrived at their house about 9am last Wednesday and said they would have to evacuate soon.
Police returned about 10am to evacuate the pair.
However, when the Couzenses did not want to leave their dog, caged parrots and pedigree poultry behind, police officers grabbed them, the couple claims.
Chris Couzens believed there were 12 police officers in total. ‘‘I didn’t have time to turn around. I had police all over me,’’ he said.
He claims that when the handcuffs were being put on him, another officer punched him in the stomach. He said he gave no resistance.
A police spokesperson confirmed two people were arrested for failing to comply with police instructions.
‘‘Two individuals repeatedly refused to leave their property after multiple visits from police. They were advised that if they continued to refuse to leave, they could be arrested. They again refused to leave, and when approached, one of the individuals reacted aggressively, and was subsequently placed in handcuffs and the pair removed to a place of safety.’’
They were released with a precharge warning, the spokesperson said. Police did not respond to further questions about the
Couzenses’ claims of being assaulted.
Linda Couzens said that when she was about to get out of a police car at the station, a police officer kneed her in the side and told her to stay in the car. ‘‘As I was swinging around to get out, a policeman kneed me in the side and said, ‘Sit down,’ ’’ she said.
They were taken to an outdoor section of the Gore police station for 15 minutes before two officers drove them to a friend’s place at Waimumu on Wednesday morning.
On returning to their home a day and a half later they found 15 poultry chickens that were in an incubator had died.
Chris said this week that he and Linda were still traumatised by the incident.
‘‘I didn’t have time to turn around. I had police all over me.’’ Chris Couzens