A taxman driven around the bend by continuing work woes drove his car through the building where he had worked for 25 years.
David Jerrold Theobald, 47, drove his Mazda 626 through the foyer of the Christchurch Inland Revenue building on Cashel St at 6.30am on Saturday after a three-year employment dispute.
He crashed through two sets of glass doors and smashed a third on the other side of the foyer before coming to a stop.
Mr Theobald said he had gone to great lengths to avoid risk to any staff.
"I checked with the cleaners the night before to make sure no-one would be in the building. I drove right up to the doors, looked both ways, then slowly pushed forward till the doors broke."
Mr Theobald said he was fed up with what he saw as concealment of workplace bullying and incompetent management at Inland Revenue.
"This has been going on for three years, and now I've got four official information requests in with them and they're making that as onerous as possible ... This was just a way to make a gesture."
He also wanted to highlight how easy it would be for someone with terrorist intentions to ramraid the building with a truck full of explosives. "It's just another 9/11 waiting to happen."
Mr Theobald is a fixture of the Christchurch music scene. He is known as Mick Elborado when he plays with his band The Axemen and in other groups.
He appeared in Christchurch District Court yesterday charged with intentional damage and reckless driving and was remanded on bail till August 31.
He told The Dominion Post he had not decided how he would plead, but was prepared to accept the consequences of his actions.
Inland Revenue would not comment on the incident as it was before the court, but Mr Theobald has received a letter from human resources head Patrick Crawford.
In it, Mr Crawford said: "Information has come to my attention which indicates that you may have intentionally driven a car through Inland Revenue's Christchurch building ... I am concerned that your conduct may be inconsistent with the Code of Conduct."
Mr Theobald could face up to seven years in prison if found guilty of criminal damage.
what made this story for me was the letter from hr advising that his "conduct may be inconsistent with the code of conduct"
may? may??
but then, think about it. he did this in his own time,and having seen the IRD's code of conduct, I'm reasonable sure that it doesn't say that you're not allowed to drive your car into the builsing.
That's what grabbed my attention. That and the way he protests workplace bullying with an extreme form of workplace bullying.
ReplyDeleteAlso amused that the intense, political, psychedelic punk group The Axemen included a taxman among their membership. Psychedelic and ounk aren't really teh qualities you would want in a Taxman ... or maybe you do.
Also on the subject of alternative lives. Read last night that Howard Devoto spent a large chunk of the 90's/2000s working as a photo librarian. Seemed congruent somehow.
A current and a former deputy commissioner with IRD play in a pub band in Wellington... nowhere near as interesting or creative as the Axemen though.
ReplyDeletehttp://cio.co.nz/cio.nsf/spot/7D737B1A5B5E8081CC2574DA0007AE8C
Hi Taniwha Chris,
ReplyDeleteAs my workplace dispute involved people as high up the normal process as the Canterbury organiser of the PSA and a team leader from HR Wellington who presumably flew down for the occasion, and had involved three managers and three team leaders in that time, I think you might say that if I hadn't made the protest I did, it was likely yet another case of workplace bullying would be swept under the rug.
My protest certainly didn't involve racist or sexist comments or borrowing money, and it seems like IR suffered no financial loss whatsoever So, maybe read up on the facts -- bullying involves intimidation and fear of future reprisals -- I certainly haven't intimidated anyone and take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions. See any politicians, pundits, or commenters do that these days. Thought not
yeah, mickle. the reason i didn't post on the protest is that i don't know the details.
ReplyDeletetaniwha, i wouldn't call it bullying, i mean the incident took place apparently at 6.30 on a saturday mrning, so the only person who was likely to get hurt was the guy itself. i mean we ird officers work hard, but not that hard. so, destruction, yes, but bullying? unless he gave management an ultimatum saying that unless they gave in he would drive his car into the building...and now i come to think of it that would be extortion, rather than bullying. it was the typical human resource letter that made the story.
on his blog, he has apparently posted photos of the incidence. the herald (i think) printed one where he had put a caption about opening ird's new 24 hour driv in service. that caused some laughs at work
anon. its not unusual for an ird staff member to be in a band. in the early ninties, i worked with the bass player of thye malchicks and i was roadie with francis sect. and that's just the bands that recorded!
Well, I suppose context is everything. I would call an act of aggression or damage to property with the intention of influencing behaviour an act of bullying but shift the frame and it becomes protest. Mostly though, I'm bemused with the way that the IRD resolves its human resource issues.
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