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A former policeman convicted after accusations he assaulted his wife has been ordered to pay her almost $60,000. Photo: Unsplash / Sandy Millar
This story discusses details of domestic abuse.
A police officer who was in charge of a woman's domestic violence complaints against her ex-partner went on to marry her, but their relationship soured, after the officer also started abusing her.
Within months of the pair marrying, he was charged with two counts of assault and one of strangulation.
He was subsequently convicted after a three-day jury trial last year and he no longer works for New Zealand Police.
The couple, who cannot be named, separated two years after their relationship began and have since been embroiled in a years-long dispute over how to divide their property.
According to a Family Court decision, the woman complained she was subjected to ongoing psychological abuse by the man, leaving her feeling as if she was his "slave" and "walking on eggshells" around him.
She claimed the abuse was primarily financial control, as she was expected to pay for streaming subscriptions, vet bills, meals, daily coffees and groceries.
The woman paid the officer rent to live with him in the property he owned and said she was also expected to hand over half her income.
She further claimed that he controlled where she went, whom she associated with and what she wore.
After extensive litigation in the Family Court, the man has been ordered to pay her $58,000.
According to the ruling, the pair met when he was working as a police officer in charge of her family violence complaints against her ex-partner.
They entered into a de facto relationship a year later, when she moved into his home.
Within months of marrying, the couple separated, after the family violence incident that led to the man's convictions.
Her court claim acknowledged that the marriage lasted only a short time, but asserted that she was entitled to a share of the $167,000 increase in the value of the man's property.
He opposed her claim, arguing that the only property the pair shared was a relocatable cabin.
'Walking on eggshells'
According to the ruling, there was a significant age gap between the pair and the woman came into the relationship with fewer financial resources than the man.
She had some small savings, a car on finance and $31,000 in KiwiSaver, while he had a house worth more than $850,000, police superannuation of $166,000 and several vehicles.
She made no claim to his property, other than the increase in its value.
According to the ruling, she had sold her car and put $8000 towards building a cabin at the property, which was later independently valued at $17,000.
She provided the court with extensive submissions on her contribution to the relationship, describing how she did the bulk of the domestic work, including preparing and cleaning an Airbnb at the property, and how she did not collect an income from it.
She provided evidence that she was expected to pay $400 a week, which her husband put towards the mortgage, as well as rates and insurance.
However, she was also required to hand over half the funds received from her own business, which she ran from the cabin.
She claimed this was against a background of "ongoing psychological abuse, involving power and control, and verbal abuse, which then turned physical".
Her evidence was of being "a slave", a "doormat" and being constantly belittled.
The police officer was convicted and sentenced for family violence against his wife (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The man did not challenge her evidence of abuse during the Family Court proceedings. Other than stating that he contributed to domestic duties, such as mowing the lawns, taking out the rubbish and building the cabin, he told the court that he provided his home for them to live in and met his share of the living costs.
He said the woman should not be able to live "rent free".
A robotic life
In her decision, Judge Nicola Grimes said the court process had been long, partly because the man had not filed evidence of his finances, despite being asked to do so repeated by the court.
Because of this, the court had limited evidence of his financial position, compared to what the woman had provided.
"I find [the woman's] evidence credible in that she undertook the majority of domestic tasks, including renting a room on Airbnb," Judge Grimes said.
"In her police statement, she described her life being robotic, that she got nothing from the relationship and was financially used throughout.
"The fact that [the woman] contributed significantly to the physical and financial structure of the relationship in the context of being subject to ongoing psychological abuse adds value to her contribution."
Judge Grimes said that the woman's contribution to the relationship was "clearly greater" and ordered that she receive 35 percent of the total increase in the value of the property, which equated to $58,000.
The man declined to comment, when approached through his lawyer.
The woman also declined to comment.
Police confirmed that the man was no longer an employee and referred NZME to an anonymised report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority published in February last year.
The report said the authority had investigated an allegation that an off-duty officer assaulted his partner.
"In May 2021, following a criminal investigation, the officer was charged with impedes breathing and assaults person in a family relationship.
"The officer has since resigned from the police."
At the time the report was written, the matter was still before the courts, but NZME understands the man was sentenced to community detention.
*This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
Photo: Open Justice
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Family Violence
- Women's Refuge: 0800 733 843.
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- The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies.
