Distancing rules not policed to avoid ‘tension’
Enforcing alert level 2 restrictions at the Black Lives Matter marches could have caused tension in an otherwise peaceful protest, says one of New Zealand’s top cops.
On Monday, thousands of protesters around the country marched in solidarity after the death of African American George Floyd while in police custody. However, politicians from across the aisle, and within Cabinet, complained the non-enforcement of restrictions made a mockery of the Covid-19 alert levels.
Assistant Commissioner Lauano Sue Schwalger said the actions of police are dictated by the situation at the time. ‘‘In these circumstances, it was probable that attempts to enforce alert level 2 would have caused tension in an otherwise peaceful protest, without being effective to enhance physical distancing, given the numbers in attendance.’’
Schwalger said the role of police is to ensure safety and uphold the law while recognising the lawful right to protest.
‘‘We have determined to take an educative approach,’’ she said.
Schwalger said organisers tried to ensure participants of the marches complied with the alert level 2 guidelines. ‘‘For example, at the vigil on Parliament grounds, participants were provided with sanitiser and encouraged to maintain social distancing, and in Auckland, organisers specifically requested that participants maintain social distancing.
‘‘It was an unfortunate reality, with the numbers ... that this quickly became impractical.’’
A spokeswoman for the Auckland march, Shalane Williams, said organisers worked with police to reinforce the social distancing message every 5 to 10 minutes.
‘‘We handed out masks, had hand sanitiser available and followed contact-tracing protocol.’’
Schwalger said police would engage with organisers of the events to set clear expectations for any future action.