A Waikato family was disturbed in the early hours of this morning as armed police stormed their home looking for a person in relation to a serious local crime.
Sheryl Matenga claims her Huntly home was wrongfully raided by police with a warrant to search her property for the individual.
Ms Matenga, who is currently running for local council in the Waikato, says they arrived on her doorstep at 5am.
“I check behind the curtain and saw police lined up outside out here all in their black suits and balaclavaed up and holding guns. I was like, 'What the heck?’
“They were just yelling on the microphone, saying: ‘Come out. We have a warrant to search your whare.’ And I was saying, ‘My kids are asleep,’ and they said: ‘Wake them up and put them in a blanket and bring them out here.' It was raining, it was cold, it was freezing.”
Ms Martenga and her partner have been working alongside police in the region to strengthen their relationship with locals. They also led an anti-P march in Huntly last year and say they’re confused by this morning’s raid.
“It was a kick in the guts,” she told Te Karere.
“We do so much for this community and try to advance our whānau and to have them [police] roll up on our front doorstep and not acknowledge the mana that we have here, it’s horrible.”
Te Karere approached police for comment, who sent a statement saying: “The warrant related to a person we are seeking in relation to a recent serious offending in the Huntly community. The person sought was not located. As inquires are ongoing, further comment cannot be made at this time.”
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