There’s nothing as smug as Andrew Dickens.
After misidentifying a British family of tourists and updating every time they fart, the NZ Herald Summer team of interns seems to have dipped to a new low.
Shock – horror – father of two kids chased to death has anti-police feelings…
Christchurch triple fatal: Victims’ father’s anti-police stance made public
The father of teenage brothers killed in a crash as they fled police in Christchurch in a stolen car has posted photographs apparently showing his disdain for authorities.Glen and Craig Mcallister died after the car hit police spikes, crashed into a tree and went up in a “huge ball of fire” on Sunday night.
Brooklyn Taylor, 13, was also killed.
…and just when you didn’t think that was gross enough, right wing zealot at ZB, Andrew Dickens launches an attack on the grieving father on the front pages of the NZ Herald.
How classy to mock and kick in the face a grieving father. Dickens does it because the photos of the dead teenagers has made him angry and rather than question our chaotic police chase protocols, it’s easier to spit in the face of the mourning father.
What a piece of filth Dickens is.
Shame on ZB, shame on NZ Herald and shame on Dickens. Allow the father to grieve his dead children before you start pissing all over him for clickbait you spiteful sanctimonious arseholes.
The father is a useless prick who raised sons who tangled withe police and lost big time. Rather than accept the fault both he and his sons played in this, he decided to continue being a prick.
Pardon me if I happen to think he has brought this all on himself.
Unfortunately he brought it upon his sons too.
The mans kids aren’t cold in the grave yet Jay, you might want to wait a week before shitting all over him.
He shat all over them himself by trying to lay the blame anywhere except where it belongs.
I have zero sympathy for him.
If he’d come out and expressed grief but accepted.that this was all his and their making, then he might get a little sympathy. But not after spinning the old “I know nothing” routine.
What a prick.
Setting the the perimeters for how other people grieve is what every one does just before they privatise some government service while screaming socialism.
Jays, if you have zero sympathy you are therefore unable to feel any empathy for others. This is not your fault, but you need to understand that your post is socially unacceptable.
Sorry spanky, you need to understand that not everybody has the same opinion as those who dwell in your echo chamber.
But more importantly you need to understand that in a country where free speech is (at least for now) protected, that your idea of what is socially acceptable means precisely fuck all.
I new debating you was a bad idea. Laws spank> opinions.
Jays, would you feel differently if it were your children involved?
They were kids. Teenagers with under-developed maturity m(which is what a kid is).
I’ve done a fair few stupid things in my teens and early 20s as well. Luckily none resulted in my death/injury. Pure luck.
The worst thing an adult can do is forget what it was like as a young person growing up. If you can remember your own foibles at the time, the world is less black and white than we assume.
The problem is with the dick of a father who is blaming the police rather than accepting his own very major part in this.
He is clearly an appalling role model and his sons actions reflected that.
As for Martyn whinging about the Herald calling this dick head out on this, it is ridiculous.
Kids die like this because scumbag parents raise bad eggs and rather than confront the truth and try to fix the root cause we bury our heads in the sand in order to avoid “offending” anyone.
Well enough I say. Call out the father for being a prize prick who raised his sons to be criminals who brought about their own demise.
+100…valuable points JAYS
That said I do feel very sorry for the boys and their families
JAYS – 100% mate
This is a multi-generational drop-kick family who got what they deserved.
A new low for you, Andrew.
You’ve got it completely wrong about blame when kids go off the rails. The kids of best parents go off the rails. Sometimes it’s inexplicable. How about the kids of some of your mates? Everyone’s experienced it.
God help anyone who loses two kids in an accident. I cant imagine what that would be like.
Have some basic humanity.
Jays, you are sanctimonious & nasty over this. If the police knew these lads already, why didn’t they divert them to getting their fun in a way that would help them grow? instead of playing the fast driving game with them & causing their death? How terrible to lose two sons, it saddens many people who didn’t know them and we feel for their father’s pain.
Quite: any time offenders are known to police it should eliminate any need to chase them, as they can feasibly be tracked down in future.
That would out more pressure on collecting evidence like finger prints instead of being caught red handed. Can you be certain there’s enough capacity there for this new chase policy. ehy not chip out all vehicles limits to 100ks-110ks instead like they do in Japan. Seems like a much simpler fix IMO.
@ NIK…re “any time offenders are known to police it should eliminate any need to chase them, as they can feasibly be tracked down in future.”
…ok and just let them wipe out innocent people and families first ?!
…and then track them down?…nice !…thankyou
…and when you track them down will their families laugh in your face?
It is a pity that the law doesn’t hold the parents responsible for the actions of their off spring. Looking at thair ages I assume that the kids are not yet old enough to be legally responsible, but some one must be made responsible. If not the parents, then who?
How is it possible that these kids are possibly being taught nuclear physics but are assumed not to understand that stealing is an offence?
The law is an ass.
Criminal liablility is primarily guilt based, negligence based only in specific cases. So no. You can’t punish parents for something they didn’t do.
So parents should be held financially liable for any damages. But not criminally.
I didn’t mention either ‘financially” or “criminally”. You agree that parents should be financially responsible but offer no suggestion about how to do that, which isn’t helpful.
As it happens I believe that all punishment under the legal system should consist of fines which cover the total cost to the tax payer. The way the fine is administered is for it to be paid for up front by the Reserve Bank and for the guilty people to repay it like a loan. They are held in a work centre and are required to work off the fine by working on community projects (planting a billion trees?) and receiving a minimum wage.They remain confined until the loan is paid off.
If parents are confined, paying for their offsprings misbehaviour, when the children are legally adult they take over what remains of the debt until its paid off.
Define “total cost to the tax payer?”
I mean as for the rest of your comment? Inheriting debt. That sets a dangerous precedent. Lower courts will kick it up to higher courts where the precedent was set.
Maybe you shouldn’t tell the courts how to run things and just do a bit of reading before commenting on things you don’t really have a clue about.
I would have hoped that commenting on the topics raised in TDB would lead to better understanding.Rude responses dont help. Where is the ODT’s censoring mechanism when you need it?
You may notice that I am not afraid to put my real name to my comments, but who is Sam for pity’s sake?
+100 DENNIS DORNEY…”who is Sam for pity’s sake?”…my guess a foreign troll…in any case doesnt usually make much sense…and best ignored
+100…good constructive points DENNIS DORNEY
( unlike much of the impotent liberal, “arent I wonderfully compassionate?”…crying and hand ringing here)
these kids were REPEAT offenders and they risked innocent people and families repeatedly , every time they went out in a stolen car and drove at speed and went through red lights
the police were/are powerless ( but then again people here like this)
the kids were looking for some form of boundary setting and accountability which their families were unable or unwilling to give them
many teenagers don’t listen to their parents Dennis
Ain’t that the truth Michelle. Many good parents spend the teenage years of their offspring in utter despair at their chidren’s behaviour. Hope like hell they make it to 25 years and maturity shines the light of rational thinking into their brains. Bright kids occupied or not cause trouble . Unintentionally most of the time. In Northland country kids have the option of “paddock cars” old dungers only fit to be driven until they die in a dry grassy paddock supervised by responsible aging fellow travelers. My eldest would not be alive if he hadn’ t had this option as a teenager. Oh and he could and can drive exceptionally well. He has been driving since he was 7 years old.
And you are happy to leave it like that, Michelle?
I am in complete agreement with Martyn and Janio – if the family were “known to the police” why were the police not doing something to stop the cycle? We need our protectors to start protecting people not property! These were two boys who were obviously a handful so where was the school, the police, MSD all the people who are paid to look after children at risk – maybe some of those CEO’s should be in court or sacked for failing in their duty of care. Children are not the sole responsibility of their family we as a society have a social responsibility to help raise our next generation!
“why were the police not doing something to stop the cycle”…they were but these kids were repeat offenders
…maybe the kids should have been locked away?
…or given a good spanking?
….they put other people’s lives at risk….they ran red lights and drove at speed
We have plenty of useless pricks in this country many not looking after their kids or paying their maintenance and its more than often the women and children that suffer. But these kids have just died their bodies had to be identified using dental records and now we have some dick head calling out the father he is fucken hurt and angry give him a break and why are people being cunts already have they forgotten who the people were that came and colonised NZ they weren’t rich or from high class families.
Thanks for writing this Martyn I absolutely could not believe what I read when I saw that article. I could not be more disgusted that such a piece could be published, that a writer who kept patronizingly and aggressively calling that poor father ‘mate’, instantly identify himself for the complete dickhead asshole he must be would be given the print space by any newspaper let alone MSM. Where is the credibility. What a nation of baying dogs, and vlosly followed by
What a nation of baying dogs, and closely followed by a completely weird blow by blow account of one families holiday antics, from the spies apparently on every corner and under the watchful eyes of various city mayors. Unfuckenbelevable.
Lone Comet did you see the herald coverage of the ‘rampaging’ family with the kid of about four giving the finger to the Herald photographer? Little trooper, he’s obviously well on the way to a life of crime stealing cans of fizz from petrol station shops.
Not seeing many comments here questioning how this tragedy fits in with supposed policy to abandon dangerous chases?
Any death of a child is a tragedy
The time for politicising a child’s death isn’t when they aren’t even buried yet
Kudos to Martyn for showing more compassion than these media vultures
The Police deserve an award for their impressive contribution to the death toll on roads. ( “making communities safer”)
The Herald deserves an award for their years long dedication in changing public perception towards blaming the victims.
Its a win/win situation for the sociopathic corporate state.
The Police did a good job…they abandoned the chase and put out road spikes to stop the car
…however the Police abandoning the chase did not stop the REPEAT offender young fuckwits/hoons from running multiple red lights ( playing Russian roulette with the lives of many innocent people)
…and then the young idiots failed to stop for the road spikes (sending their stolen car airborne into a crash that resulted in death by fireball )
… the point is that the young delinquents WANTED a POLICE CHASE!
… the police were dealing with REPEAT offenders ( one of whom had been named after an uncle who was a murderer!)
Yes it is a tragedy…but lets not be stupid and irresponsible and blame the Police!
( what if these young offenders had killed or maimed your innocent beautiful daughter or caring responsible son or careful responsible law abiding partner or loving mother or father ?)
It should not have to be spelt out here !…but traffic rules are there to protect and the Police are there to enforce this protection ie protect you and me and our families
what a bunch of authority loving arseholes have taken the time to denigrate the incinerated youngsters
are there any fore locks left in NZ? with the cringy worship shown to the cops and their seriously sick macho culture it would seem not many, kids do stupid things with their underdeveloped brains, but professional Police should know better than pursue on an adrenalin rush
If these people were known to Police they could have found them easily enough in a day or two with no deaths needed, Police pursuits need to become the exception not the rule
‘Teen killed in crash named after uncle who shot dead NZ cricketing great’s son’
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/109979270/teen-killed-in-crash-named-after-uncle-who-shot-dead-nz-cricketing-greats-son
…”It is understood the three boys had regularly stolen cars throughout the city in recent months. The car involved in the crash was first seen speeding in central Christchurch at 11.13pm on Sunday, reaching speeds in excess of 130kmh and running red lights on Moorhouse Ave. It had been stolen in Wigram earlier that night…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/109902537/three-dead-in-christchurch-crash
….””What’s clear is the pursuit had been called off several minutes beforehand and the car continued to travel at speed after that, the dangers the driver presented continued, and was still a risk to members of the public and themselves.
“It wasn’t being caused by police officers pursuing, but clearly by those people choosing to drive at those dangerous speeds.
“The decision to deploy spikes, on the face of it, is done to try and reduce the risk by stopping that vehicle and so the risk to the members of the public is reduced…
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