(May 2016) New Zealand: Napier woman Courtenay Fraser found guilty of assaulting animal control officer

NEW ZEALAND -- Napier woman Courtenay Fraser has been found guilty of assaulting an animal control officer during a prolonged exchange that involved a flying knife, smashing bottles and a dog being tasered multiple times.

It took a jury less than an hour to return guilty verdicts on two charges of assault against Fraser on Wednesday, at the end of a two-day trial in Napier District Court.

Earlier in the day, the jury heard Fraser, 21, say she was about "10 out of 10 on the drunk scale". She admitted she might have been verbally abusive towards Wayne Butcher, but was adamant she had not assaulted him as he claimed.

Butcher, a Napier City Council animal control officer, arrived at Fraser's Wellesley Rd home on the evening of November 24 last year after reports that occupants were sitting outside and threatening to set their pit bull mixes on dogs being walked by passersby.

He found Fraser and two men sitting on a couch outside under a tree. They said there were no dogs and became aggressive towards him.

Butcher said Fraser threw a jug of water at him then assaulted him with an empty glass bottle. She then smashed the bottle and lunged at him multiple times as he backed down the street.

He had to take evasive action and called police for help as empty bottles rained down on the road around him, Butcher said. At one stage he approached his van, but retreated after a knife was thrown at him.

By the time police arrived, Fraser had taken her dog, Caesar, and holed up in her bedroom. She did not respond to police calls over a megaphone, and officers had to enter the back door and break down her bedroom door.

The pit bull was tasered several times – Fraser said seven times – by police, who were concerned he would attack them.

Fraser, a sales assistant and event promoter, told the court she had consumed more than 20 bottles of beer over the day and was "highly intoxicated". Asked to rate her drunkenness on a scale of one to 10, she put it at 10.

She admitted throwing the jug of water over Butcher and verbally abusing him, but denied assaulting him.

She said she "freaked out" when Butcher called police, because "I thought I was going to be arrested and that they'd take Caesar".

Seeing the pit bull getting tasered was "the worst thing I've ever seen in my life". "They should never have done that to a small puppy."

Caesar survived and was later returned to Fraser.

She claimed Butcher and the police were needlessly aggressive. She and her flatmates were evicted a week after the event, because of damage at the property.

Crown lawyer Fiona Cleary told the jury it was a simple case. Fraser had been highly intoxicated and "flew into an irrational rage" that involved assaulting Butcher.

Fraser's lawyer, Scott Jefferson, said Butcher had made up his story and the Crown had produced no physical evidence of his being assaulted.

Fraser pleaded not guilty to charges of assault with a bottle as a weapon, assault using a broken bottle as a weapon, and assault using a knife as a weapon. The charge involving the knife was withdrawn on Wednesday morning.

The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts at 3.23pm. Fraser will be sentenced in July.

 

(Stuff NZ - May 24, 2016)

Earlier:

• New Zealand: Animal control officer tells court that pit bull owner Courtenay Fraser lunged at him with broken bottle