Officers go free over teenager’s fake arrest

''We just cared too much. In the end there's no winners for this situation. For the families, for the young people, for the officers involved." Inspector Hurimoana Dennis

One of the two policemen found not guilty of kidnapping a youth in order to end a teenage love affair says he and his fellow officer simply ‘‘cared too much’’.

Inspector Hurimoana Dennis and Sergeant Vaughan Perry were cleared of trying to force a 17-yearold to end a relationship with a

15-year-old girl by locking him in a cell and forcing him to move to Australia at the request of his family.

A jury at the High Court in Auckland yesterday found the pair not guilty of the youth’s mock arrest.

‘‘The last 21⁄2 years, and indeed the last two weeks, have been absolutely humiliating for me and my family,’’ Dennis said.

He said his involvement with the youth could be best described as ‘‘practical, commonsense, bigpicture policing, with a bit of heart’’.

‘‘The only thing that Vaughan and I have done wrong is be very proud Ma¯ori officers, who were quite vocal about the number of young Ma¯ ori men coming into the judicial system.

‘‘The only other thing we’ve done wrong is we just cared too much.

‘‘In the end there’s no winners for this situation. For the families, for the young people, for the officers involved,’’ Dennis said.

‘‘I wish the young people well in their very young lives. I hope they pick better role models as they move forward in their lives,’’ he said.

The jury reached a verdict about noon yesterday, after a total of four hours.

It began deliberations on Wednesday afternoon but retired for the night, before resuming yesterday morning.

The trial had scrutinised police strategy and the role of tikanga Ma¯ ori, or cultural values, in New Zealand law.

In May 2015 the youth was processed and locked in a cell at the Auckland Central police station as if he had been arrested in what the Crown presented as an attempt to scare him into agreeing to end the relationship with his girlfriend.

The Crown alleged the 17-yearold was given an ultimatum by Dennis in the cells: start a new life in Australia without his 15-yearold girlfriend, or be charged with statutory rape.

Dennis was a family friend and the mock arrest occurred over concerns the youth was having underage sex.

The next day, he was allegedly put on a plane to Australia to stay with extended family, believing he had no other choice.

Dennis’ lawyer Steve Bonnar, QC, argued the youth‘s evidence wasn’t supported by other witnesses, and that Dennis was a respected and conscientious leader in the Ma¯ ori community.

The youth had always understood, Bonnar argued, that Dennis was taking him on a temporary visit to the police cells, for a lesson about the consequences of his actions.

The defence also contended the mock arrest had been in line with tikanga Ma¯ ori or cultural values, and police strategy for reducing Ma¯ ori crime.

Meanwhile, Crown prosecutor Brian Dickey argued that in his dealings with the youth, Dennis was not acting as an objective police officer.

Instead, he served as an enforcer to the youth’s wha¯ nau’s wishes that he move to Australia, which ‘‘takes us into a realm of abuse of power and authority’’.

Following the allegations Dennis was stripped of his duties as a police inspector, but remains the chair of a prominent south Auckland marae.