What You Can Do to Stop the Shiftwork 'Blues' - New Zealand Police ...

PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceThe Prophet andthe PolicemanBy Mark DerbyCraig Potton PublishingReview by Peter HayesI spotted this book at Unity Books, Wellington’s,if not New Zealand’s, best bookshop. I knewof Commissioner John Cullen’s first responseto the creation of a Police Association in NewZealand and, as my father built the first roadinto Maungapohatu in the early 1960s, I had toread it.The book tells the story of two New ZealandersStop Press:Papakura officer attributes SRBA with saving his lifeSergeant Alan Nash is thanking his luckystars that he had his stab-resistant vest onwhen an offender in Papakura recentlyattempted to stab him during a domesticviolence callout. The vest deflected theblow and the offender was eventuallysubdued and arrested.Police News understands that four officerswere despatched to the scene and founda man in the kitchen of a house with twokitchen knives in his hands. Officers saidthe man became aggressive and startedwaving the knives around in the directionof the officers.Pepper spraySergeant Noel Atkinson directed the manto put the knife down but he refused andadvanced on Sergeant Atkinson. ConstableShane Grant then deployed pepper sprayand the man exited the back door of theproperty, where he met Sergeant AlanNash. The man then thrust the knife atSergent Nash striking his vest in the rightwhose lives collided in 1916, creating a conflictwhich represents the lowest point in racerelations in the history of the NZ Police to date.Cullen was a hard uncompromising Irish farmworker who had served in the Irish Constabularybefore coming to New Zealand. He was the firstCommissioner to rise through the ranks and hedemanded absolute obedience from his men. Ifyou disagreed with him the consequences weregrim, as Constable Smith of Auckland foundout. When Constable Smith attempted to setup a Police Association he was subsequentlyand permanently dispatched to Greymouth.All Constable Smith and his supporters wereasking for was an extra shilling (.10c) per dayand to be able to sit down to have meals onduty. It took another 20 years before othersdared putting their heads up again; such wasthe fear of police officers “associating”.Rua Kenana called himself the Maori Messiahand the “son” of Te Kooti, who had hidden in themisty mountains and valleys of the Ureweras formany years in the 1870’s.The Tangata Whenua of the Ureweras areTe Mana Motuhake O Tuhoe. Tuhoe had notsigned the Treaty of Waitangi and had foughthard for a separate Tuhoe nation. A battle thatcontinues to this day.Rua emerged out of this battle for sovereigntywith a vision for his Maori followers. Ruadirected his energies into gathering the peopleand trying to make it possible for them to liveand work together. He collected many assetsand then sold them using the collective wealthfor communal projects and he purchasedseed and distributed food supplies in difficulttimes. Rua was a divisive leader, but washand side of his chest, causing the knife toslide up towards Mr Nash’s neck.A struggle ensued and the pair ended up onthe ground with the man still in possessionof both knives. The man then got to hisfeet and attempted to stab all four officerspresent, eventually being overpoweredwhen the officers resorted to using theirbatons to help apprehend him.Nash, who has been on the job for 10years, is in no doubt the vest probablysaved his life.Push for SRBAThe Police Association pushed for allofficers to be issued with SRBA vests aftera reported spike in attempted stabbing ofofficers several years ago. Police initiallybalked at the plan because of the costinvolved but eventually sought andreceived additional funding from theLabour Government for the outfitting ofall frontline police officers.also an inspirational leader for a substantiallydispossessed people who needed a vision.Despite this he also had critics, Maui Pomareand Elsdon Best amongst them.His devoted followers (over 600 at times) beganto concern the Government of the day. AlthoughRua met with Ministers and the Prime Minister,that concern steadily grew. This came to ahead when his pacifist teachings clashed withconscription during the Great War (1914-1918).Cullen, as Commissioner of Police, was called into sort this matter out once and for all. In 1916Cullen personally led a party of approximately 80police officers into Maungapohatu, Rua’s “city ofGod”, in the central Ureweras to arrest Rua fortreason and outstanding warrants. The expeditionwas an unmitigated disaster, with two local Maorishot and killed, but Rua was finally arrested andtaken back to Auckland to stand trial. However, asthe warrants were served on a Sunday the wholelegal process was invalidated and virtually all ofthe charges were thrown out. The Supreme Courttrial went on for months and apart from “morally”resisting arrest he was found not guilty of all othercharges. He was sentenced to 18 months hardlabour. This sentence proved controversial andeven the jury later publicly protested that thesentence was too harsh.This book entwines the separate threads ofthese very different personalities into a veryreadable book. Anyone who reads it willunderstand a little more about the reaction ofMaori, in particular Tuhoe, to the recent raidsin this area of New Zealand. There are no scarshere; there are still some very raw wounds thatwill take generations to heal.Recommended reading.Counties-Manukau police were the firstto receive the vests in a 2006 roll-out. Agradual nationwide roll-out followed butit had teething problems associated withill-fitting vests.Several police officers have attributedthe body armour with having savedthem from serious injury or death, whencoming into contact with violent offendersarmed with weapons.A South Auckland man is facing seriouscharges of male assaults female, twocounts of threatening to kill, four countsof assaulting a person with a stabbing/cutting instrument (the officers involved)and contravention of a protection order.Footnote: The South Auckland incident has sincebeen followed by vicious assaults on a Tuakau officerand an Oamaru officer, which left both officers withserious injuries. Two officers were also attacked inPalmerston North.The Tuakau officer was attackedby up to 15 youths while trying to break up a fightbetween two students and shortly afterward anOamaru officer was hospitalised after being viciouslyattacked by three men at a drink-drive checkpoint.44March 2010