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NZ, Wellington, 14 November – As previously reported (16 November), police failed to provide any form of presence during the Wellington anti-TPPA protest march.
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“Policing” was effectively left up to March Marshalls who controlled traffic and supervised protesters as they made their way through Wellington’s CBD, to Parliament.
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As I also reported, a msm journalist present noted the lack of police presence, expressing his surprise and nervousness.
However, at Parliament’s grounds, there was no lack of police presence. At least twentytwo policemen and women lined up in front of the old Parliament Building.
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The building was not only empty on a Saturday afternoon, but the entrance had been boarded up due to refurbishment activity.
It was apparent that police had positioned themselves on the Parliamentary forecourt waiting for protesters to arrive, and in the process had forgotten another of their primary duties; traffic management and escorting the protest march through Wellington’s narrow streets.
Fortunately, the March Marshalls achieved a good result in both areas.
But there was another curious aspect to the policemen and women on Parliament’s forecourts.
On a previous anti-TPPA march in Wellington, on 15 August, protesters were ‘greeted’ with police wearing tasers on their belts;
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Last Saturday’s (14 November) police did not appear to be displaying tasers.
But – were they armed with tasers concealed in their pockets?
These images were taken on the day, and appear to show bulges in their pockets that do not appear in the above images, or similar images taken three months ago;
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For a better comparison;
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Following the 15 August anti-TPPA march and the open display of tasers, there was some public disquiet at police carrying these weapons to a political protest.
On this occassion, someone within the Police hierarchy may have made an unfortunate ‘call’ to have their officers carry concealed tasers.
There is no clear evidence to prove this assertion one way or another. The bulges may have been hankies stuffed deep into trouser pockets (quite a few hankies, judging by the bulges).
But if true, it may be appropriate for an urgent “Please Explain” between the Minister’s and Commissioner’s offices.
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Previous related blogposts
Citizens march against TPPA in Wellington, send message to National govt: “Yeah, nah!”
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= fs =
Really Frank , going around looking for bulges in mens pockets isn’t really that important at the moment.
You really need to get a life
Herb
This is the precisely the time to be questioning such secret police-state tactics. There is an interesting post by Anthony Robins over on TS about; the use of the Paris bombings as justification for prohibiting encryption in online communications.
http://thestandard.org.nz/paris-as-an-excuse-for-more-useless-surveillance/
With the media saturation about Paris eclipsing other stories, it is important that independent citizen journalists; such as Frank, continue to ask questions that the MSM ignore. I certainly thank him for his willingness to raise this topic, despite the inevitable dick-jokes from those who have evidentally never seen another naked man. Pro-tip; most human males tend to only have the one penis, and that is located in the middle rather than the sides of the pelvis (also they’d have to have some extreme piercings to create that pocket outline).
Is that a taser in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?
It was a very good natured protest, possibly one of the most enjoyable I have been to in a long time. People seemed to be in a good mood and the speeches were pretty good. It seemed to be about bonding with each other as much as reminding everyone how bad the TPPA is. The music by Matiu Te Huki at the end was perfect. He’s probably one of the most charismatic young Maori performers in New Zealand at present.
Not sure which method I’d prefer. To be tasered, or a 1984 baton to the
Aside from all the “bulge in your pocket” joke, it’s a serious matter if police have taken to carrying concealed weapons. It would be a disturbing development, and want to know what the Commissioner has to say about it!
Actually it’s not the uniformed police you should be concentrating on. I wasn’t at this march, but on previous ones there were quite a few plain clothes people there, some taking pictures with GoPro or SLRs with zoom lens – basically documenting every person there. You could tell from the way the handled themselves (don’t ask me know, they just seemed very confident) that they were plainclothes police or SIS.
Of course it’s a perfectly legitimate thing to investigate and report on. Especially at a time when the NZ Police are no longer accountable to anyone.
Maybe you’ve been overindulging in your namesake Herb?
Yes we cant conceal weapons so why should they?
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