COMPLAINT ABOUT OFFICER UPHELD
Video showed officer using ‘unprofessional’ language while speaking to man on ground
ANorthland police officer at the centre of an online video that sparked a fierce debate about whether he had used unprofessional language has had a complaint against him upheld.
The nine-second video filmed on February 3 shows a man lying face down next to a weed-eater on a Kamo Rd driveway in Whau Valley being approached by two officers with Tasers. One of the officers addresses the man with a word that viewers debated was “cuz” or “c***”.
The video’s publication on a private Facebook page with more than 17,000 followers resulted in a complaint from Whanga¯ rei resident Fraye Dunbar to the Northland police and Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).
Dunbar said she had just finished reading an article about the IPCA’s ruling that Northland police had used excessive force against Whakaari Peri, 17 at the time, when she spotted the video which made her think “enough is enough”.
“These young cops these days just speak to people terribly. It needs to stop.”
Northland district commander Superintendent Tony Hill said they had promptly assessed the complaint and spoken to the officer involved.
“They have been reminded about our expectations for staff set out in the police values.”
A spokeswoman for the IPCA said they had agreed the language the officer used was unprofessional.
But the IPCA was satisfied with how police had addressed the matter and opted to take no further action against the officer.
Shannon Parker, of the New Zealand Police Conduct Association, said she was pleased to learn Northland police had taken the complaint seriously.
“Being spoken to like that is inappropriate and unprofessional and doesn’t induce compliance nor does it inspire people to engage with police,” Parker said.
Dunbar said a letter she received from the IPCA informing her of the complaint’s outcome had her baffled.
“The IPCA wrote to me but didn’t say what had happened, all I got told was, ‘while we do not condone the use of unprofessional language, we are satisfied police have addressed this appropriately with the officer and will take no further action’.”
She said more details should be given in these circumstances so a complainant is clear on what has and has not happened. She was yet to hear back from Northland police.
Because the matter was dealt with via a confidential employment process no further details were made available by police or the IPCA.
“I hope this cop has learned something from this,” Dunbar said.
The Whanga¯rei man responsible for the clip did not want to be identified but said he was dismayed at the negative attitude towards police generated by the video.
“It was just for a laugh because there was a dude walking down the road with a weed-eater.”
The man said he was convinced the officer had said “cuz”.
Customers of a paint outlet have donated nearly 2000 cans of food to bolster the Salvation Army’s food banks in Northland during a nationwide appeal.
The Hunger for Colour Appeal sees cans swapped in store at Resene outlets for test pots.
In seven years, the campaign has collected more than 275,000 cans of food to support struggling New Zealanders.
Whanga¯rei Resene collected 1283 cans while Kerikeri Resene managed 608 last month.
“Our food banks are often depleted at the start of the year, when many people rely on them to put food on the table after meeting the extra expenses a new school year brings,” Salvation Army territorial director of community ministries Jono Bell said.
The appeal started as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes, when Resene collected cans for those affected by the emergency.
“The success of the campaign shows the enthusiasm New Zealanders have for helping others struggling to put food on their table, and for colour and DIY projects,” Resene marketing manager Karen Warman said.
The month-long campaign has helped restock shelves of Salvation Army food banks around the country.
“With winter just around the corner and our centres starting to run low on stock they really appreciate Hunger for Colour. It’s a relief for them to know that generous people in their
Our food banks are often depleted at the start of the year, when many people rely on them to put food on the table after meeting the extra expenses a new school year brings. Jono Bell
communities always get behind this campaign. This support makes a huge difference in their planning for the extra people who rely on us for help over winter,” Bell said.
“Pretty much everywhere we have a food bank, there’s a Resene ColorShop so it’s an incredibly important annual fundraiser for us. We’re really grateful to Resene for the past seven years of support and their commitment to running the campaign again.”
The cans will give a timely boost to Salvation Army food banks, restocking shelves after the busy Christmas and back-to-school period, he said.
Last year 130,000 food parcels were distributed nationally by the Salvation Army – more than double the number in 2019.
Salvation Army delivers between 350 and 400 food parcels a week throughout Northland and the bulk of it is in the mid north.