Witness recounts moment councillor allegedly threatened former Buller deputy mayor

Di Rossiter left the witness box, walked over to Robert Stewart KC, and shook both fists at him in the Westport District Court on Monday morning.

Rossiter was demonstrating the moment accountant Frank Dooley allegedly threatened then deputy mayor Sharon Roche at a public meeting in Westport in February 2022.

Rossiter and her husband Phil, both company directors, were subpoenaed to give evidence for Buller mayor Jamie Cleine in Dooley's defamation case against Cleine who alleges Dooley raised a fist at Roche at the meeting.

The Rossiters had attended the 2022 Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP) meeting to find out more about what the plan meant for them and the community. Expecting an informal drop-in session, they arrived 10 minutes late to a "tense atmosphere", and a presentation.

Di Rossiter said Dooley had been asking multiple technical questions before Roche asked "appropriately and professionally" that he keep his questions to the end.

"Frank exploded out of his chair, he very forcefully slammed his hands down loudly on his desk, pushed himself to his feet and moved rapidly and aggressively toward Sharon.

"He exploded, yelling in her face 'f*** off, just f*** off Sharon'. He was leaning towards Sharon and his fist was clenched and raised."

Di Rossiter said Roche stumbled back. Rossiter couldn't believe what she saw.

"There were gasps of shock from the audience… there was then a God-awful silence of people just in shock."

Roche asked the room if Dooley's behaviour was appropriate. Many people said no.

"Frank then verbally attacked and lunged towards Sharon again, loudly yelling 'f*** off' and leaning towards her with his fists clenched."

Rossiter said she was considering intervening when her husband elbowed her, so she crossed the room to face Dooley. "I told Frank to get out and that his behaviour was disgusting and appalling and that he should leave immediately."

Dooley "slumped" into his chair some time between her walking over and talking to him, she said. "It seemed he was coming back into his own awareness. He looked pale and seemed shocked by his own behaviour."

The Rossiters left soon afterwards and Roche followed. They spent about 10 minutes consoling Roche before she returned to the meeting and they left, Di Rossiter said.

Phil Rossiter recalled the incident similarly although he could not see whether Dooley's hand was clenched into a fist or open when he raised it. He said he was seated behind Dooley while his wife had more of a side view.

He remembered Dooley's fists clenched at his side before he raised his arms.

The Rossiters said they were both upset after the meeting and spent the night discussing it. Former Buller District Council chief executive Sharon Mason phoned, and they individually discussed the incident with her.

In cross examination, Dooley's lawyer Robert Stewart asked Phil Rossiter why he had sent his wife to intervene if Dooley was physically threatening.

Rossiter said his wife was courageous and it was clear the situation needed de-escalation, not the presence of another large male.

Cleine's lawyer Daniel McLellan KC asked Di Rossiter a similar question. She responded similarly to her husband and said her husband would have been "right at her back" if she faced any difficulty.

Both witnesses were asked about their company Dexterra, which contracts to the Buller District Council. Phil Rossiter said the company worked with management not with the elected members who were at the TTPP meeting. Di Rossiter said her primary concern at the meeting was for Roche, not for Dexterra.

Stewart asked Phil Rossiter about his involvement in Cleine's 2019 mayoral campaign. Phil Rossiter acknowledged offering Cleine informal advice.

The court on Friday received some last-minute evidence - a text sent during the TTPP meeting.

It said: "Frank just stood up to Sharon and raised his fist after she asked him to stop swearing. The group asked him to leave and he wouldn't. His behaviour was appalling."

Robyn Nahr sent the text to Phil Rutherford during the meeting. Nahr and Rutherford were then Buller District councillors.

Stewart objected to the text being accepted as evidence, but Judge Kevin Kelly over-ruled him.

Nahr told the court she froze in shock when Dooley raised his fist to Roche.

"It was definitely a closed fist, it was solid like he was going to hit her. His face was angry and his demeanour was physically intimidating… I truly thought he was going to hit her, it was horrendous."

She said several people called out for Dooley to leave, but he wouldn't.

Nahr left the meeting shortly after. "It really affected me because I'm not used to violence."

District councillor Joanne Howard also attended the TTPP meeting. She recalled that Dooley "took a swing" at Roche.

Howard said Dooley rose from his chair, spun to face Roche and swung at her.

"It was a full swing, stopping short at above Sharon's shoulder, and about six inches from her left side of face".

Howard said Roche was "either very calm or stunned" by Dooley's actions.

She said Dooley kept his arm raised and only lowered it when people called for him to stop. She had never felt so upset at a public meeting since becoming a councillor.

McLellan asked Howard where Dooley would have hit Roche, if his fist had connected. She said around Roche's cheek or eye.

Cross-examined by Stewart, Howard said she wasn't focused on Dooley's hand in the moment but assumed it was in a fist.

Stewart asked why she had seen a fist and several others had given evidence of seeing an open hand.

Howard said their view would have been obstructed by Dooley's back.

Nahr and Howard both gave statements to police after the meeting.

TTPP lead planner, consultant Lois Easton, recalled Dooley's behaviour as intimidating and angry.

Easton and TTPP senior planner Edith Bretherton, a West Coast Regional Council employee, had begun their presentation when Dooley started interjecting with questions.

"When Sharon Roche intervened I was relieved. I was feeling very stressed about the level of aggression I was encountering," Easton said.

She recalled Dooley lifting his hand to Roche and demonstrated by raising a clenched fist. Stewart challenged her recollection, but she stood by it.

She said if Dooley's aggression hadn't been channelled at Roche, he would have targeted her and Bretherton.

After the meeting, Bretherton filed a health and safety report.

Cleine's final witness, project manager Larry Eade, was due to give evidence via audio-visual link this afternoon. The lawyers will make their closing statements tomorrow.

This story was first published by Westport News