Calls for calm after officers charged
South Taranaki leaders are calling for the community to remain calm after it was revealed three police officers have been charged following a man’s death while in custody.
The officers, all of whom have interim name suppression, have been charged in relation to the death of a 55-year-old man who died at the Ha¯ wera Police Station in the early hours of June 1, 2019.
They all appeared in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday where it was alleged they were grossly negligent in their duty of care to the victim and this negligence was a causal factor in his death.
The three, who have been stood down from their duties, were remanded on bail to appear in New Plymouth High Court on June 26.
Former National MP, police officer and prosecutor Chester Borrows said police, including the officers charged, would be dwelling on what could have been done differently.
‘‘It’s a sad day for all concerned really,’’ Borrows said.
‘‘People ring police for their assistance and when things like this happen they wonder whether that was the best course of action.’’
Borrows said the obvious concern would be the community losing faith in the local constabulary with two consequences.
‘‘One is they will start policing themselves, and we will end up with vigilantism and the other thing is people will get hurt because the police will be called too late.
‘‘It is not about whether they feel warmly towards the police or not, it’s about whether or not they have the confidence to ring them when they need them.’’
Borrows moved to reassure the public New Zealand had a high standard of policing compared to other countries and not to jump to conclusions about what might have happened.
‘‘At the moment we know hardly anything about it.
‘‘No-one is really in a position to talk about this case too much except the police themselves and they are not saying anything.’’
South Taranaki mayor Phil Nixon didn’t want to speculate about what had happened as the matter was now before the courts.
‘‘It’s not nice having something like this happen in our community or in any community for that matter,’’ Nixon said.
‘‘I think that the community will be quite shocked by it.’’
He also urged people to remain calm and not jump to any conclusions.
People needed to ‘‘wait until all of the facts are known’’.
Nixon said his thoughts were with the victim’s family as well as the officers who had been charged and their families.
Andy Beccard, who owns the business across the road from the police station and is a South Taranaki District Councillor, said the news came as a shock.
‘‘It’s a sad situation all round when someone passes away, it affects many people.’’
In a statement, National MP for Whanganui Harete Hipango said it would be inappropriate for her to speculate or comment now charges had been laid.
‘‘However I remind us all to maintain perspective and reassurance that the court has a duty and obligation (to the deceased person, that persons surviving family/next of kin, the accused, and the public) to discharge its duty in access to justice, the right to a fair trial and a full and thorough examination of the facts before making its determination/ findings.’’