Do we need a #BrownLivesMatter campaign in NZ?
Another day, another Police shooting that ends in death or serious injury by the civilian.
This time, it’s NZ.
If you or I kill a person in self defence, we have to show that the level of force used was appropriate. If someone comes at me with their fists, I’m only legally allowed to use enough force to stop that person from being a harm to myself or others.
The threshold for our trigger happy cops these days seems however to be woefully much lower. It seems that if a Police Officer risks spraining his wrist, that’s the straw on the camels back for shooting someone.
One of the reasons why guns were not allowed on all Police is because the average cop has low training when it comes to using guns. Putting them in every car now is showing up that lack of training.
Remember when Tasers first came out and the pro-Police brigade justified their deployment with ‘better a taser than a gun’ in terms of Police using force.
Where are those Tasers now?
Police shootings since 2000
• September 8, 2015: Pera Ariki Smiler, 25, shot dead outside McDonald’s in Upper Hutt after reportedly firing his rifle inside the restaurant on Main St and then brandishing the rifle in the street
• June 11, 2016: Mike Taylor was shot by police at his property on County Rd, in the Karangahake Gorge, just after 8.30am. Police said he was shot dead after getting “very close” to the three attending officers while wielding a slasher and machete. But his partner claimed Taylor had nothing in his hands, and was shot in the back
• August 2, 2015: David Cerven, 21, was shot dead in Myers Park, Auckland. A Slovakian national on a working holiday visa, Cervan was wanted in connection with three armed robberies. Two officers apparently fired on him within moments of each other
• May 3, 2015: Vaughan William John Te Moananui, 33, shot after he refused to surrender to police, and pulled out a gun in Thames. He was taken to hospital but died shortly afterwards
• July 7, 2013: Caleb Henry, 20, shot on Auckland’s Northern Motorway after committing a home invasion in Opotiki. Officers chased him from Cambridge and eventually stopped him with road spikes. He was pointing his gun at officers when a member of the Armed Offenders Squad killed him
• June 8, 2013: Adam Te Rata Charles Morehu, 33, shot and killed after shots fired at police at New Plymouth Golf Club. The IPCA later said poor communication and a lack of command and control contributed to the events
• July 15, 2011: Anthony Ratahi, 46, shot and killed as he struggled with police dog after a siege in Opunake, 65km south of New Plymouth. He had been holding ex-partner Marcelle Beer hostage at the Headlands Hotel for 12 hours
• March 28, 2011: Lachan Kelly-Tumarae, 19, shot four times after a police chase in Omahu, near Hastings. Kelly-Tumarae was killed after he stopped his car and pointed a gun at officers
• June 28, 2009: Shayne Sime, 42, shot dead after two-hour standoff in Christchurch. An officer and a neighbour were injured. Sime, who was wheelchair-bound, was believed to be depressed and his death was ruled a suicide
• January 23, 2009: Halatau Naitoko, 17 – an innocent bystander – shot dead on Auckland’s Northwestern Motorway after getting caught in crossfire as police shot at aggravated robber Stephen Hohepa McDonald, 50
• October 23, 2008: Lee Jane Mettam, 37, fatally shot after she threatened to kill staff of a Vodafone store in Whangarei and aimed her rifle at police.
• September 26, 2007: Stephen Bellingham, 37, shot dead in Christchurch after smashing cars and car windows with a claw hammer. Said to have been on a party-pill binge.
• August 14, 2004: Haidar Ebbadi Mahdi, 37, died from bullet to head as he stabbed wife being held in headlock in South Auckland house;
• April 30, 2000: Steven Wallace, 23, of Waitara, shot after window-smashing spree in the town.
When you include a justice system that is racist and imprisons Maori offenders disproportionately I think we have passed a threshold for a determined #BrownLivesMatter campaign to shake Pakeha NZ out of its ignorant John Key trance.
Yeah look,… enough is definitely enough…
Reading about yet another Police shooting in the Herald today. Look, … what ever happened to containment and cordon?
Whatever happened to assessment of the situation , whose at risk , vicinity of the general public , and the vicinity of the offender and what weapon hes /shes holding… a machete will not be much use against a firearm in most cases unless there is the element of surprise.
And in the case of the Armed Offenders Squad,… they generally operate under a brief of what the suspect is armed with , their vicinity , the environment and just who is at risk and who is involved.
So we have cordon , containment , negotiation , tasers, stun grenades , tear gas, Police dog units ,fast deployment and strength of numbers … and at the very , very end of the line … firearms.
It seems we have under ( yet again ) this John Key govt with its fascination with all things Americana and particularly its mode of Police operations ( think 80 plus quasi military style Police to arrest Kim Dotcom dropped in by helicopter armed to the teeth and in combat fatigues – to arrest 1 bodyguard , 1 husband , 1 pregnant wife and 2 small children ) the escalation of regular lethal force to resolve with violence what formerly was of the British model – that of utilizing the methods in the paragraph above. Which was and is far more effective in bringing a peaceable end to most situations without the loss of life.
The fact of the matter is… ever since this sycophantic American style govt has been in power there has been greater social unrest , and ham fisted solutions to Policing social problems and criminal behavior. I for one am sick and tired of seeing this crude manner of Policing creep into my country. Another person ( usually Maori ) dead. And will we see yet another Maori guy being shot next week?.
I strongly suspect we will… or in two weeks. One a month seems to be the latest trend.
Here is a message to Key and his lackey style American govt:
We don’t need your shitty love affair with the USA . We don’t need your condescending outlooks on people just because they are not ‘ rich ‘. We don’t need your bogus ‘legalized ‘ murders of members of the public under the guise of ‘ law and order’ just because they are not rich and white.
And we sure as hell don’t need you.
Fuck off with you.
Just get out.
Bastards.
Ah…so in fact he didn’t die.
But was shot nonetheless.
Couldn’t agree with your more we are heading in a very very dangerous direction our divisive leader has turned us into a little America and we all know what is happening there.
Agree jk is turning us into a little USA thought he said p was under control yeah right !
thanks W. K well said
Agreed, Wild katipo!
“American Woman” thanks Guess Who.
American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come hangin’ around my door
I don’t wanna see your face no more
American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come knockin’ around my door
Don’t wanna see your shadow no more
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, I said get away
American woman, listen what I say
American woman, said get away
American woman, listen what I say
Don’t come hangin’ around my door
Don’t wanna see your face no more
I don’t need your war machines
I don’t need your ghetto scenes
Colored lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Go, gotta get away, gotta get away
Now go, go, go, I’m gonna leave you, woman
Gonna leave you, woman
Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye
Well that sums it up Martin, the voices are silent. Hello, anyone out there………………
brown lives matter to
Of course they are Doc but your right on the ball with your commentary
I cannot work out why no one anywhere has not come up with “all lives matter”
Thanks Dave. Sense prevails, we are all valuable.
Tell jk that Nick and Judith Collins who has been poo pooing on Maori culture but sucks up to Chinese culture cause it comes with big dollar signs. Funny how Judith can give more respect to the Chinese it really shows how this country has deteriorated under the Tories nasty leadership. And the Tories are being exposed globally. Just look at Auckland no one wants a tory Mayor when we already have a tory govt doing lots of social damage to our country and our people
100% MICHELE I’M WITH YOU HERE.
Because who is over represented in being shot Dave not our white people it is our brown people
Donald Trump is the voice you’re looking for Dave.
You’ve found your man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADg1Ea_ERvQ
he has a point (ducking now)
Some of those were while Helen Clark was PM. Both cheeks of the political bum refuse to rein in police. They’re scared of the Sadistical Sentencing Trust and the police association.
You’re right, we do need to organise, and a sight more than McVicar and his angry rednecks have.
That is a good summary, when we force feed a doctrine from Darwin …PRESERVATION OF FAVOURED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE which is a racist belief as shown by an article in the NZH today http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11674637 about Charles Beau Menefee who said “…reason for you un-evolved, uncivilized turds to….” then it is no surprise that certain sections of society have no respect for all people groups. While most supports of evolution would abhor racism there can be no doubt that Darwin was racist. The biggest problem is the economic disaster that has had a greater impact on lower earning groups in society & needs to be fixed.
Scary sad reading .
Bullshert Andrew stop being a racist pig.
Thats whats happens when the NZ police start getting advice off the US and Israel. They bring their fucked up racial situations back to NZ to flame the fire of racial hatred and fear, that clearly is completely fucked up and not working.
Andrew menefee unfortunately Andrew has a big whanau in the land of plenty…….for some.
What a slobby mess of a human being Bradbury is.
So desperate to take a pot shot at Police he is actually defending a male who was stabbing his own wife.
“he is actually defending a male who was stabbing his own wife”
Settle down Mr Angus, no need to get your knickers in a knot over nothing.
Critiquing the cops doesn’t equal defending criminals or their crimes.
It’s not that difficult to imagine two people are in the wrong.
This isn’t Star Wars, we don’t have a good vs bad binary in every situation.
All you need is some basic critical thinking skills and empathy.
Yes… I would say that going by your vindictive standards we would see mob rule return.
True, some crimes are so heinous it invokes a feeling of vengeance, however, the mark of a civilized society is one where all are equal before the law, all are entitled to an unbiased trial, all are to be treated innocent until proven guilty and all are to be treated with an impassive distance.
If that is not the case then we see emotive vigilante behavior creeping in.
When I was doing security studies, one senior lecturer who was an ex Police officer stated ” The Police are not executioners , nor are they the judges ” … and for that , – the realization that there are many fine officers is apparent.
And the preservation of that ethos is paramount. Not only does it give credence and kudos to officers but enhances their ability to work with the public. If we adopt the ‘ shoot first and ask questions later ‘ Wild West approach…. it will only make Policing so much harder in this country.
And unless you want to see a return to Medieval militia, summary executions, vigilante groups and householders being armed to the teeth and shooting on sight ,… unless you want to undermine the whole legal system by that sort of ad vocation , you’d best learn to stay your passions and let more balanced minds prevail.
When you take a human life that is a serious thing.
And if you take that life with an attitude of flippancy you also degrade your very own human existence.
It is for these sorts of reasons that the science of modern Policing was developed , the techniques, … to provide a healthy balance complimenting an advanced society. We do not wish to let that degrade into cheapening ourselves by letting our Police , and courts not maintain the highest of standards.
And that is why we need to be able to criticize these institutions where needed – to maintain those high standards.
Not bow to emotionalism, vigilante action or unwarranted legalized murder just because it makes us feel on the side of moral righteousness or gives some sort of them and us power trip , nor because a quick solution at the end of a gun makes us feel somehow ‘out of sight , out of mind’… after all… it could be you or one of your family or friends shot dead because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time – yet innocent , …or even otherwise.
Defending complete losers seems to be a part of the ideology of what I would call the more radical left. Counter productive and not appealing to the swinging voter in my opinion.
“Defending complete losers seems to be a part of the ideology of what I would call the more radical left.”
Defending complete losers? When and where?
“Counter productive and not appealing to the swinging voter in my opinion.”
The radical left doesn’t aim to appeal to swing voters. That’s the aim of Clintonites and Blairites (and it’s self-defeating). Appealing to swing voters is the aim of third way / neoliberalists.
Adrian Angus, your comment about Martyn is disgusting. Why do you resort to puerile, personal attacks, in an effort to support your fallacious argument?
“Ignorant John Key trance” – excellently put, Martyn.
Key appeals to smug, self-satisfied, “I’m alright, Jack” middle NZers who don’t want to think beyond their obscenely soaring house prices.