By Jenny Suo
An investigation has begun into a Chinese tourist's allegations of police brutality.
The woman claims she was tackled to the ground in Hamilton, suffering a gash to her face and a dislocated elbow.
But Waikato police deny the officers involved used excessive force when they arrested her.
Naiju Li says she does not understand how her holiday turned into such a nightmare.
The 56-year-old travelled from China to Hamilton to visit her niece.
Now she is recovering from a dislocated arm and an injury to her left cheek.
“I still don’t know why the police were so brutal; he was such a big police officer, he could have handcuffed me easily,” she says.
Last Wednesday Li drove to Countdown Hamilton to do some shopping when she returned to find her car gone.
Li then spotted a tow truck in the car park.
Knowing no English she said she used hand gestures to communicate with the driver and then sat in the truck so she could be taken to her car. Instead the police were called.
Win Van der Velde of the Waikato police says the woman was hanging onto a tow truck.
“The truck has a vehicle that did not belong to her hooked up to it, and when we asked her to desist she resisted in doing so.”
Li says she was cooperating with police but when she realised they did not understand her gestures she headed back towards the supermarket to sit down.
She says it was then that police charged at her.
“I screamed, my head was down. I couldn’t do anything with my hands to gesture anymore because they had my hands, and then my head went down,” she says.
Police say Li resisted her arrest.
Police say in the attempt to restrain her she tried to bite the officers and in doing so they had to take appropriate action to restrain her.
Li is now facing charges of disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest
She is is making a police complaint and while police are refuting claims of misuse of force, they are investigating the matter
3 News