Gordon John Dickson is before the courts for wasting police time regarding an incident in Whakatāne.
This involved him slipping an empty red suitcase into the Whakatāne District Council headquarters foyer and walking away, leaving it unattended.
Dickson told the Whakatāne District Court he had not expected the police to get involved and the possibility of triggering a bomb scare had never entered his mind.
Judge Paul Geoghegan acquitted him of a trespass charge, but found him guilty of recklessly causing wasteful deployment of police personnel or resources.
The Otago Daily Times has been told Dickson, 72, is to be sentenced on April 15, which is five days after voting opens in the by-election.
Unusual aspects of the case included Dickson washing the suitcase, but describing it as rubbish the council should deal with, and sending an email to the district’s mayor about it.
His history of interactions with the council also included paying $500 in rates with coins.
Dickson could not be reached for comment last night.
The ODT obtained a copy of the court judgement.
Police alleged Dickson, who had previously been served a trespass notice covering part of the council building, placed an empty suitcase in the foyer of the Whakatāne council chambers on May 24, 2024, and walked away.
He would or should have known that such an act would result in it being perceived as a bomb threat, resulting in the evacuation of the building and the bomb squad having to be called in, police said.
Dickson attempted to present an innocent explanation for what happened.
He was secretary for the Whakatāne Action Group and he was bothered by what he considered to be lack of care by the council in managing reserves.
He told the court he went for a morning walk and noticed about 10 days in a row a suitcase beside a rubbish bin at an Ōhope reserve.
He opened the suitcase and found it full of clothes. He washed both the suitcase and the clothes and hung the clothes over trees in the reserve.
In the end, he kept the clothes, but sought to return the suitcase to the council.
Dickson left it in the foyer, went home and sent an email to the mayor at the time, Victor Luca.
"There is a red empty, washed carefully, suitcase that I dropped off at council today to be involved in our existing ongoing legal matter with Whakatāne District Council over its management of the reserve ... Kindly relay this to staff as I have had a call from the police saying the building is locked down," he wrote.
Police called Dickson and asked him to come to the council — he was soon arrested there.
The judge dismissed much of Dickson’s evidence as lacking in credibility.
The email to the mayor was an attempt to cover his tracks, he said.
"I have reached the conclusion that Mr Dickson knew perfectly well what he was doing when he slipped that suitcase into the foyer of the council," the judge said.
However, he found the initial issuing of the trespass notice had not been justified.
"I find that the issuing of the trespass notice was unreasonable, arbitrary and unlawful — it follows from that that I must find Mr Dickson not guilty of trespass."
He has previously stood for the Otago Regional Council, Southern District Health Board and in a Port Otago electorate by-election.
Dickson’s Dunedin City Council by-election profile said he was not living in the area and he was "Moving home to ‘Dunnas’."
