Vocal Council critic and longtime activist, John Anderson, aka Fast Buck$, was arrested last Friday night for allegedly breaching his Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) by an Echo ad from the June 2 edition (page 17).
The AVO was requested by police on behalf of Councillor Sarah Ndiaye, who says she fears for her safety and is intimidated by Mr Anderson.
Mr Anderson denies having a history of violence, says he will fight the AVO and instead claims Cr Ndiaye is ‘intimidated by the truth’.
Mr Anderson told The Echo he was woken at 9.30pm last Friday night by police with body cams, who were aggressive towards him.
‘I was handcuffed, photographed, my wallet and address book searched, and taken to the Byron Bay police station. I was told that I had to sign a document. I asked if this was considered coercion, and the cop admitted that it was’.
Yet Detective Chief Inspector Matt Kehoe told The Echo, ‘Mr Anderson was not coerced into signing any documents. Without all of the facts, I can advise that several forms are signed as part of a person’s custody and/or charge. He was afforded “Conditional Bail”, and, as per the The Bail Act 2013, the accused, if they agree to comply with such conditions, would naturally sign the Bail forms’.
Mr Anderson continued, ‘I asked if the complaint came from Cr Sarah Ndiaye, and the police said “Yes”. I eventually got out at around 1am and had to catch a taxi home’.
He says the AVO arrest was prompted by his paid Echo ad, in which he said the police officer serving the AVO couldn’t pronounce ‘Ndiaye’.
He wrote, ‘There you go Sarah; another male deliberately mispronouncing your name in order to harrass and intimidate you. PS Sub judice cuts both ways’.
Mr Anderson says the case will be heard at the Mullum Courthouse in early July.
Cr Ndiaye told The Echo she reported the ‘breach’ to police. ‘The police make a decision as to how they respond to a breach’, she said.
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