Lyal Glass has been vindicated by a judge who quashed his conviction of failing to give police his address - when he was homeless. Photo: New Zealand Herald / supplied
A homeless man was arrested and spent 15 hours in a cell for not giving police an address, despite telling them he did not have one.
Now, Lyal Glass has had a conviction quashed by a judge and is seeking damages after being injured in the cells and undergoing a "humiliating" experience.
His lawyer said there were no grounds to arrest Glass after police pulled him over on New Year's Day, 2020 for speeding.
During the stop, police asked Glass for an address, but he couldn't provide one because he was homeless and living in his car.
Lawyer Callum Frederic said his client should not have been held in police custody, given the offence he was charged with had a maximum penalty of a fine.
Glass was later convicted of speeding, which he does not dispute, after a defended hearing before Justices of the Peace, and for failing to give police an address - an offence under Section 114 of the Land Transport Act.
Frederic appealed the latter conviction to Judge Karen Grau in the Pukekohe District Court, who agreed with the notion that a homeless person has to give police an address "cannot be correct".
"The basic point is that you can't be arrested for not giving a physical address if you're homeless," Frederic said.
"Just as you can't be arrested for not giving a mobile phone number if you don't own a mobile phone."
Judge Grau said the effect of the police position - that any motorist must provide an address on demand - "would mean that a homeless person could not legally drive on a road in New Zealand".
She set aside the JPs' decision and quashed Glass' conviction.
"While it may create a practical difficulty for the police, I agree with Mr Frederic that a homeless person should not be prosecuted for failing to provide something they do not have," Judge Grau said.
She said the issue would not arise if the police still had the ability to hand paper tickets to drivers, as they used to.
"At the time this provision came into force, New Zealand did not have the homelessness problem that now exists.
"I cannot accept that a homeless person should be convicted of a criminal offence … just because the police no longer give the driver a ticket on the spot," Judge Grau said.
Glass told the New Zealand Herald that when he was stopped on Island Block Road near Meremere in Waikato, he provided the police officer with his driving licence, his details and his date of birth.
"He got to the point where he was like, 'What's your address?', and I said, 'I'm living in the car, mate, I don't have an address'," Glass said.
"The sticking point for him was that, 'You have to give me an address because I've got to send a ticket out'. I said, 'I can't give you an address because I don't have one, mate'.
'He said, 'Send it to any old address'. But I said, 'That wouldn't be my address… I'd be giving you false details."
Glass was arrested and taken to the police cells at Manukau, more than 40 kilometres away, and went before the JPs the next day. His car was left on the side of the road and got towed.
Glass said his thumb was dislocated after he got into a "big bloody tussle" at the police station and he was unable to work for a month and a half afterwards.
"One of the guys grabbed my arm up my back and basically rolled my thumb, so popped it out and then popped it back in. Did the damage to the ligaments," he said.
Police took his trousers away because they had a drawstring in them, and he was not provided with overalls until a change of shift.
"My 'tackle' was just hanging out. Walked into the station, there were three women cops, two male cops... it was bloody humiliating."
Glass said, however, that it was "quite a good buzz" when he was vindicated by the judge.
Frederic said he would take the matter back to court on Glass' behalf, seeking civil damages.
"The appeal judgment demonstrates that there were no grounds to arrest [Glass] in the first place, and once he was arrested, he should not have been held in the police cells overnight, given the offence he was charged with … carries a maximum penalty of a fine," Frederic said.
"Generally speaking, people should not be detained for lengthy periods if they are not charged with an offence punishable by imprisonment, because Parliament has deemed that such offences are not serious enough to justify a deprivation of liberty."
Glass is no longer homeless, having found somewhere to live in Huntly.
His speeding ticket was posted to his parents' address.
Police were asked if police procedures would change because of the judge's decision, and what officers would do now if faced with a similar situation.
A spokesperson said a response would not be available until next week.
This story was first published in the New Zealand Herald.