Police double standard on Palestine

PSNA is demanding police charge a pro-Israel tyre slasher, after he slashed two tyres on a Palestine supporter’s car in Raglan during a pro-Palestine protest in mid April.

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa says Police told the victim they will not charge the Auckland businessman saying he has admitted he did it, apologised and has agreed to pay for the damage.

PSNA Campaign Co-ordinator John Minto says the Police say the tyre slasher has no criminal record and the victim has never been a victim before so it doesn’t reach the threshold for prosecution.

“Police have told the complainant they can’t prosecute because it doesn’t meet the Solicitor General’s guidelines for doing so.”

“We are flabbergasted at the double standard. Five of our supporters in Christchurch were charged with wilful damage last year after placing small stickers onto the window of a central city business”.

“One of these people appears in court tomorrow in Christchurch to face police charges of wilful damage”

 “Since when is slashing tyres given a free pass but putting stickers on a window demands prosecution?” says Minto.

“A large PSNA delegation met with senior police in Wellington earlier this year to discuss what we have seen as an obvious police bias in going softly on pro-Israel physical violence and property damage while taking heavy-handed action at the mildest protests against the genocide in Gaza.

“The police denied any bias in their policing, but this tyre-slasher case underlines the shocking prejudice at some police levels.”

“They are taking their blatantly prejudiced approach from similar outrageous police responses to protests in Australia and the UK.”

“Letting off this tyre slasher just adds to the litany of complaints of systemic police prejudice against Palestinians and Palestine supporters in New Zealand.”

“If the situation were reversed and a pro-Israel supporter had their tyres slashed the police, media and politicians would be in a frenzy claiming it as a violent, anti-semitic attack which endangered Jewish lives”

“We have written to the Police Commissioner Richard Chambers to demand prosecution of the tyre slasher.”

John Minto

National Campaign Co-ordinator

PSNA

Background

The well-known Auckland businessman had approached two women who had arrived in Raglan carrying Palestinian flags for a protest and offered money to them to fly an Israeli flag instead. They declined and joined the protest. Returning to their car an hour later they found one of the tyres was flat and had been slashed. The following day a second tyre was found flat – both tyres had to be replaced.

If the second tyre had blown out during the drive back from Raglan to Hamilton the situation could have been much worse.

The victim lodged a complaint with police and then using CCTV footage from the local supermarket was able to identify the person responsible from the company name on the car of the offender. The victim’s husband contacted the man through social media and after initial denials he phoned the victim’s husband and admitted responsibility and offered to pay for the damage once he was sent images from the CCTV cameras.

 All this information was passed to police who last week contacted the complainant to say they would not be prosecuting the man.