Police are making ‘initial enquiries’ after Labour MP Angela Roberts was reportedly slapped by a man at a campaign event on Tuesday.
On Facebook yesterday afternoon, Roberts said she was at a local election debate at her local Rotary club in Inglewood when the incident took place.
Roberts said that after the debate, she had the chance to discuss policies with voters for “questions to be answered, ideas challenged, and misrepresented facts cleared up.”
During her last discussion with a “tall man”, the List MP and Taranaki-King country candidate said things got heated. The discussion was reportedly about education.
“As he got engaged in our conversation, the aggressive finger-pointing started. Then things took a turn for the worse.”
She said he “grabbed my shoulders and shook me in order to emphasise the point he was making.”
“Then he slapped my cheeks with both hands.”
Afterwards, she walked away, grabbed her things and went home.
Now, police have revealed they are making “initial inquiries” after the incident was reported to them last night.
“Police are making initial enquiries after receiving a report of an assault last night. The incident is reported to have happened at around 9pm Tuesday 26 September, in Moa Street, Inglewood,” a statement read.
In her post yesterday, Roberts said it was “important to take a stand and call out this aggression”.
“Manhandling candidates on the campaign trail is completely unacceptable. I don’t know why he felt that it was OK to grab me or to slap me; that is a question for him.“
“I certainly expect to be challenged at debates and public meetings. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me or my party’s policies or values. That’s fine - it’s a contest of ideas, after all. But I do not accept that any aggression is ever OK,” she said.
She thanked National Party candidate Barbara Kuriger and her team for support following the incident.
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