I’ve got this theory that in a post-colonial country, the immigrant community values a level of brutal thuggishness from their Police force because it’s the mounted constabulary that would be called upon to protect the settlers from angry Maori. This willingness to turn a blind eye and allow the cops to get away with any actions they see fit is not a healthy thing for a society to indulge in. This authority worship invites the Police to start seeing themselves as above the law, and this bewildering case in Timaru has all the hallmarks of a systemic culture that believes it is a law unto itself.
If you were to listen to the Police response on this, it is almost two separate incidents that have nothing to do with one another.
In the Police spin post this Independent Police Conduct Authority report, the Police have framed this as a training failure. That some young bloke cops weren’t trained properly in using a taser and the Police will ensure that training happens so that they can do better Policing because it’s important that the community can trust them and that’s important because the last opinion poll showed 80% of people trust the cops blah blah blah.
The framing is as if there’s been a silly wee mistake, someone was tasered, but you know, we’ll sort it out, look at his photo, he probably deserved it right, hush now, go the All Blacks, what about that John Key eh? Another beer mate? I’ll go turn the sausies.
What in fact happened is two cops tasered Troy Reuben and lied about the threat Troy presented them. They lied that he threw a shower door at them or used his child to shield himself, they used excessive force. That frontline cops overstep the mark and use excessive force is one thing right, but what happens next is what is so shocking.
EVEN THOUGH the bloody Taser cameras themselves proved that the cops version of events was a lie, not only did a Timaru senior sergeant and a Mid-South Canterbury Area Commander Inspector say to go ahead with a wrongful assault charge, so did a Police prosecutor!
That’s supposedly 3 layers of check and balance that did neither check nor balance.
Just when you don’t think it can get worse, oh it does. There was an internal inquiry questioning the reason why the police took Troy to court for an assault charge they knew was wrong, but the Timaru Senior sergeant cleared all the staff in a subsequent review!
This is real banjo twanging bush justice. We have a cover up of a cover up of a cover up to try and set Troy Reuben up for an assault charge, yet the Police spin is that it’s just been a training misunderstanding.
They set Troy Reuben up and then all turned a blind eye to the evidence that proved the Police version was a lie. That level of wilful prejudice should concern us all.
Good article. So much corruption and cover ups in this uncorrupted country!!!!
Black operations are standard practice now for the police!
Hi Martin this should be on the from page of the MSM.
Unbridled power Key now has setup this country for control over the people will breed autocratic policies you portray now.
I know several fine front line members of the police in our rural area and sense they are frustrated by the directives they are pressured wit coming down from the top.
Clearly the Police are being used by the politic party governing the country and are not able to act independently.
This is an ugly truth that many countries are resorting to as we march to totalitarian status.
Duh – where do you think Bomber heard of this – MSM of course. Some of you blog commenters need to get it into your heads that the dreaded MSM supplies plenty of fodder for bloggers.
They’re not perfect and there are some damn fine bloggers out there, but just because Bomber writes something does not mean it is being ignored by the rest of the world.
Thank you Martyn for this editorial.
Believe me that Troys case is just the tip of the ice berg.
My husband was assaulted by an off duty policeman and his son & guess what the whole thing was covered up.
Police Complaints Authority sent it back to the police involved to investigate it – laugh.
Wrote to the Commissioner of Police – not interested.
Result – my husband has a permanent brain injury and will never work again. Our lives completely ruined, but hey who cares, the police by covering up the facts never got to be seen for the corrupt bullies that they are.
Whats so very sad is that unless you are mega rich you have absolutely no chance at all to get any justice in this country. Also that the general public are naive in the reality of what they really get up to and the extent they will go to bury any negative reporting on their behavior.
In our case they even went so far as to enter our property whilst out for the day to steal the folder that contained crucial evidence which they had sighted during the supposed internal investigation.
The theft could only have been committed by the police as the only person who had sighted this particular evidence was the investigating officer of the complaint. There was no gain by any other party to have possession
of this evidence. No other things or documents were removed from the property.
This is the extent they will go – & frankly no one gives a dam!
I’m so sorry you have had to deal with that! This should never happen in NZ. Most NZers believe this kind of thing never happens in NZ, and clearly they’re wrong.
Your story should be in the mainstream media.
I’ll not hold my breath though.
Lara thank you for your comment.
We did try to take it to the mainstream media but they wouldn’t touch it.
I think there are allot of people who have, or know someone who has had experiences of police behaving unlawfully/ilegally, but they feel powerless to do anything about it. The system, the courts and Judges are on their side. I was found not guilty of their initial charge, rightfully! However the assault police, resist arrest charges stuck, based on the word of the police. The truth didn´t matter. On legal advice I had my injuries from the arrest documented by a doctor. I was bruised and concussed, not a mark on them, and it didn´t matter. The judge said he must take the word of the police. The evidence was irrelevant because my legal aid lawyer didn´t bother to submit it in a timely manner, or some bullshit. Sounded like a bullshit excuse. Seriously, this is what happens. But it gets weirder. I was sentenced to monitered weekend curfew. Corrections didn´t show up to attach the ankle bracelet. Even though I had to report fortnightly and of course did, they didn´t mention it. The curfew sentence lapsed and they couldn´t make me do it over because apparently THAT´S against the law, a decision made in court without my knowledge or presence. Completely inept Corrections Department or cover-up? I will never know. I found it really disturbing that a court decision can be made about you, without you even knowing about it, behind closed doors.
You know Lynne, if you’d have told me that story five years ago…I would have said…yeah, right. Shook my head and suggested you smooth out some of the wrinkles in your tin foil hat.
However. Things happen, and your whole perception of the ‘system’ changes, forever.
I will NEVER trust the NZ Police ever again.
I believe the police are capable of EVERYTHING you describe.
And that is so frigging sad.
Kia Kaha.
Why am I not surprised, small towns are full of tyrannical, lazy, incompetent and corrupt cops who think they are above the law, like some school teachers who have bossed kids around for years who go on to become bossy and dogmatic and out of touch with their real world dealings with adults. Small town cops entrench themselves for years in little circles. Another problem has arisen here (in my small area) where the old cop thinks he is the ‘fresh blood’ that the council really needed, he is about the last thing from fresh blood with old fashioned right wing deep sea oil drilling ideas. These people hold these corruptible positions for years and years, what is coming home to roost is these old farts holding positions of ever increasing power with their addled brains. Throw them all out I say and start again!
Our local cops in our small town are rumoured to hold ´wife swap´ parties and wonder why people can´t respect them. Not the sort of people you want to be deciphering wrong from right.
Won’t be long before NZ off duty cops shoot people 16 times for holding a sandwich.
Ferguson proves you don’t have to be post-whatever to do that.
You just have to have an impoverished working class militantly fighting injustice.
How else can the rich keep the wealth they have misappropriated except by shooting anybody who fits the profile of an urban terrorist about to throw a sandwich?
Yeah, when you have the nerve to ask why they are arresting you, police assault you, then when you try and defend yourself, they charge YOU with assault police.
Commercial law could possibly provide a remedy here. The process could involve the publication of affidavits from both sides of the dispute on a public forum. The goal is to reduce the affadivits to a set of facts including a proposed remedy from the injured party, typically settlement by payment of damages. If either party is seen to be avoiding an appropriate remedy then the outstanding points can be used against that party in other legal processes. I’ve set up a forum which could theoretically handle something like this, I guess the question is whether or not it would be seen to be a viable alternative to the usual civil process.
I’m wondering how it is possible to throw a shower door at someone. New Zealand used to be regarded as having one of the most corruption free police forces in the world. We still like to think we have. Politicians (mostly right-wing) always pontificate about how great and respected our police force is whenever someone questions this. A few years ago I had a friend who wanted to be a policeman and attended police college. He lasted a few months before he gave up in disgust. When I talked to him about it he said it was a complete waste of time – all they wanted were mindless drones who would never question anything and never use their initiative. He couldn’t stand the low standards they demanded of their recruits so he gave it up.
The fact is ladies and gentlemen, despite the apparent (obviously cooked) crime stats, the NZ police are not a very good crime fighting force because they are chronically underfunded and now have become quite politicised. Crime fighting has now been reduced to a secondary function and their primary purpose is now to carry out the wishes of the National government and to keep their opponents in check.
NZ Police = policy enforcers
Good article Martyn, but considering the fact that New Zealanders voted for Dirty politics and mass surveillance it seems unlikely that there will be public outrage at what our boys in blue are doing.
[…] has an authority worship fetish, but the NZ cops can’t be trusted with them all being armed. Look at this case last week, we had two frontline cops who lied about why they tasered a man, and then had 3 levels of check […]
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