Liz Gunn ‘had no idea what I’d done wrong’, court hears

Tuesday, 7 May 2024

• Liz Gunn and associate Jonathon Clark are on trial at the Manukau District Court.

• The pair were charged with resisting police after an incident at Auckland Airport in 2023.

• Gunn is also charged with assault, but claims she was assaulted by police.

Liz Gunn has recalled the moment she and a camera operator were arrested, telling court she “had no idea what I’d done wrong”.

Gunn made the comment at trial at the Manukau District Court on Tuesday, as she defended charges of assault and resisting police.

The matter was in regard to an incident at Auckland Airport in February 2023.

Gunn, who is named in court documents as Elizabeth Cooney, previously pleaded not guilty and claimed that she was the victim of an assault.

Also on trial is Auckland man Jonathon Clark, a camera operator, who is charged with resisting police.

The pair were previously charged with trespass, however Judge Janey Forrest dismissed these charges after CCTV showed the pair were not given adequate time to respond to a police constable’s request to leave the airport before they were arrested.

The pair’s lawyer, Matthew Hague, told the court that there was no basis for them to be trespassed and police used excessive force during the arrests.

Police prosecutor Jerome Beveridge told the court Gunn and Clark were filming an interview at the airport when they were approached by Anna Kolodeznaya, an airport security staff member, who asked them about what they were filming.

As per the Auckland International Airport Bylaws Approval Order 1989, filming or taking photographs at the airport for commercial purposes is not allowed unless approval is granted by the airport.

Gunn and Clark told Kolodeznaya they were filming friends on a volunteer basis.

Kolodeznaya then backed away and contacted airport police, who arrived a few minutes later and again asked the pair to leave.

Clark attempted to film the interaction but was blocked by a constable. The pair ended up falling over on the floor together.

As the police led Clark out of the airport, Gunn followed and was also arrested, during when she also fell on the floor.

Kolodeznaya told the court the pair were using a “big professional camera”, which was not allowed, and asked them to leave.

She then noticed Clark and an associate were filming her, and asked them to stop and delete their photos.

“I felt very intimidated at this time.”

At one point during the interaction, Gunn put her hand on Kolodeznaya’s shoulder, which she said caused “sharp pain”.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV, which was played to the court, paired with audio from Clark’s camera.

Gunn was heard telling Kolodeznaya that she and Clark were volunteers filming a family they had helped get off an island.

When told they were not allowed to film for commercial reasons, Gunn said they were no different to those filming friends and family on their cellphones.

“We’re not a business, there’s no money being made… We are literally volunteers who make no money.”

Gunn repeatedly asked Kolodeznaya under which law she was asking them to stop filming.

After a few minutes, Kolodeznaya put her hands up and walked away.

“It’s a total abuse of power,” she said, adding that “The way it started in Germany was with little freedoms being taken”.

In her evidence, Gunn told the court they were filming some “dear friends” upon their return to New Zealand from Samoa when they were approached by a man from the airport who asked if they were commercial media.

Gunn explained that no, they were filming friends, and the man left.

Kolodeznaya then approached and began to question if they had permission to film in the airport.

Gunn said Kolodeznaya didn’t listen to her explanation that they were not commercial media and were filming friends and family like others in the airport, albeit with a bigger, higher quality camera.

“She was right in my space and I found her approach very aggressive,” she said, adding that all Kolodeznaya had done was “spat” demands at her.

Gunn denied that she had assaulted Kolodeznaya and explained to the court how she had “gently tapped” her on the arm to get her attention after she turned to face Clark.

“It was so light, my touch.”

Gunn said she and Clark were not told by Kolodeznaya or police what they had done wrong, given they were not filming for commercial purposes.

“When I asked her what the problem was, she wouldn’t tell us.

“She was obsessed with the size of the camera.”

Gunn described seeing Clark arrested after his retreat from a police officer who reached for his camera.

“There was a thud as he fell to the ground, the camera flew out of his hands. It seemed really violent.”

When Gunn walked towards Clark, the other officer told her she was under arrest and restrained her.

“It was a crushing move down my hand,” Gunn said through tears.

“The pain was excruciating… I had a searing pain in my wrist… He was tugging my thumb back.”

Gunn could be heard yelling for help during the arrest on CCTV played to the court.

“I had no idea what I had done wrong,” she said.

“None of it had been explained to us.”

Gunn told the court she had been diagnosed with PTSD following the incident, which left her with a fractured wrist.

The trial will continue on Friday, when Clark is expected to give evidence.

Earlier Tuesday, the trial had been moved to a bigger courtroom to accommodate for a large number of people there to support Gunn and Clark, some wearing the logo of Gunn’s failed political party, New Zealand Loyal.

Others were wearing shirts with anti-vaccine and anti-media slogans.

The gallery scoffed at times as the first witness gave evidence, prompting Judge Forrest to issue a stern warning that they would be removed from the courtroom if the behaviour continued.

“I don’t think it is fair to her that she is mocked in any way.”