Hamilton fast food assault victim frustrated by slow police response after attack

A woman who was attacked by a customer after leaving a Hamilton fast food restaurant says the lackluster police response left her more stunned.

The woman, who does not want to be named for fear of retaliation, says it was several days before she was able to speak to an officer despite repeated attempts to contact them the night of the incident and to go to the station the next day.

Waikato Police Inspector Andrew Mortimore admits there were work-attendance failures, but said they were addressed on a priority basis.

The woman said she and four friends were leaving Wendy’s restaurant “at the normal pace of normal human beings” on Greenwood Street in Hamilton around 7 p.m. Tuesday when a woman behind her told her to “get off of me. road. “.

“I was like ‘woah’ and I turned around and said ‘sorry I’m not in your damn way’ and she said ‘just fuck off’.

She then stepped aside so they could pass, but the woman kept staring at her and muttering comments under her breath before cursing her again.

More swear words were exchanged, then the woman walked over to her and poured her drink over her.

Everyone was shocked and the woman threatened to call the police.

She said the woman approached her again, pulled her hair and tried to pin her down before punching her in the face.

They managed to take a blurry photo of two of the people and their vehicle, which had since been turned over to the police.

She said neither she nor her friends fought back because they didn’t want it to affect their ability to stay in New Zealand, while two of her friends had already been victims of racial attacks a day after landing in Hamilton earlier this year.

“I was the one attacked and I stood there with my hands crossed when she attacked me. I work for an organization and, very informally, we have had discussions that we should not attack because this is not our country and they always have. advantage.

“We are here to be good citizens.”

The woman said that although she responded verbally to her attacker, she did not expect such a violent response.

“We all thought the law would take it into their own hands and do a good job, but they are not doing it well either.”

He said the police were called many times over a two-hour period, but no one came.

When they called again, they were told to go to the Hamilton Central Police Station, but were surprised to arrive and see it locked.

They saw several patrol cars leave, but none appeared to be heading for any priority work.

After an hour of waiting, they all left feeling “disappointed, upset and insecure.”

She became even more frustrated after going to the station the next day and again, she was unable to speak to an officer to give her statement.

“They simply asked me my name, address … but no one took my statement. I wanted to speak to a police officer but they denied me. They said that was not the process.

“But how is that fair? It had been almost two days for me to speak to a police officer and they said ‘sorry, this is the process.’

Inspector Andrew Mortimore said that on the night of the incident, the victim was informed that there would be delays in attendance due to the number of high-priority incidents.

“The police prioritize all calls for service based on a number of factors, and incidents that pose a risk of harm to members of the public have the highest priority.

“Incidents where an offender is still present generally take precedence over incidents where an offender is no longer present and there is no immediate risk to safety.

“However, we recognize that the delays in responding to this incident did not meet the high standards we set for ourselves.”

As for being told to come to the station that night, Mortimore accepted that it was a mistake.

“They shouldn’t have advised him to report to the station because it was already closed for the night.

“Staff tried to follow up on the victim the next day, but could not locate her.

“This was human error and we recognize that it was unacceptable, we are reviewing the advice provided.”

Mortimore said they spoke with the woman on Friday and an officer was assigned a file to advance.