EX-POLICEMAN CONVICTED ON CANNABIS BLAMES TRAUMA OF FRONT-LINE JOB

Oamaru: A former Clinton and Middlemarch police officer blames a
work-related stress disorder and depression for his use of cannabis.

In the Oamaru District Court yesterday, Adrian (known as Frank) John Van
Der Eik (45), sickness beneficiary, now of St Andrews, admitted possession
of cannabis and possession of a cannabis pipe on July 13.

When he had been stopped for a driving matter near Pukeuri, police said
they had detected a strong smell of cannabis and found a plastic bag
containing enough cannabis to make five cigarettes in the car.

A letter from Van Der Eik's psychologist, which Van Der Eik gave to the
media at court, said he suffered from chronic post-traumatic stress
disorder and depression.

He had experienced considerable difficulty coping with his condition and
obtaining rehabilitative treatment from the Accident Compensation
Corporation, it said.

In an affidavit also given to the media, Van Der Eik said he had sustained
many injuries and traumas while employed by the police from 1978 to 1991.

"I had been viciously beaten by multiple offenders several times, had a
shotgun presented to my face as other officers were being held hostage . .
. been attacked with bottles, knives and suffered throat lacerations from a
carpenter's saw attack.

"I have attended numerous fatal accidents and deaths, including what I
regard as the most stressful and traumatic job of them all, cot deaths," he
said.

Police had been seriously under-resourced, under-funded and ill-equipped.

"I endured through many funding cuts and restructuring, sold as being
modernisation of the force, but always resulting in front-line reductions
and increased stress.

"There was no availability or provision of trauma counselling, unlike
police bars, which were obviously deemed more important."

While a sole-charge officer at Clinton, he had been admitted to Ashburn
Hall in 1988, suffering a work-related stress breakdown.

He had been asked to transfer to the sole station at Middlemarch in 1989,
and the Middlemarch workload had increased by more than 400% in the next
year. In May 1990, he had been "minutes" too late to save Senior Constable
Peter Umbers' life, after he had been bashed with his own baton after
stopping Richard Lakich near Ranfurly.

"The Ranfurly station had been earlier cut from two man to a one-man sole
station. Peter lost his life as a result of this cost-cutting measure."

He also referred to David Gray's shooting in 1990 of 13 people at Aramoana,
including Sergeant Stewart Guthrie.

"There are far too many words and too few pages for me to adequately
describe the impacts of this event upon my life," he said.

He had been forced to "medically disengage" in June 1991, with chronic
severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

He had been unable to regain any equilibrium and his marriage had failed.

Defending himself in court yesterday, Van Der Eik said he had been trying
to obtain treatment for many years.

In the past 18 months, he had obtained documents from the ACC and police,
under the Official Information Act, which had revealed a 1999 agreement
resulting in no treatment or rehabilitation being offered to 129
long-term-injured police officers.

If he had obtained treatment, he believed he would not have got to the
point where he required cannabis to self-medicate.

He was not above the law, but his cannabis use was "completely different"
to that of someone who smoked it for recreational purposes. He used it as a
relaxant to relieve stress. He had had no exposure to cannabis before
leaving the police, apart from enforcing the law.

Judge John Macdonald said Van Der Eik was in the same position as others
who used cannabis for medical purposes - it was still against the law. It
was Van Der Eik's first conviction, other than a driving offence. On each
charge, he was convicted and fined $150, court costs $130.