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What next to provoke Police violence?

First a Baseball bat, then a hammer….what next to provoke Police violence?

Tariana Turia, Health Spokesperson for the Maori Party

Friday 26 September 2007

The Maori Party is calling for calm, following the frenzy of calls for taser guns to be introduced as a 'less' lethal weapon in the police arsenal to rely on in a time of crisis.

“Firstly, our thoughts are with the deceased and his family in this time of grieving” said Mrs Turia, Co-Leader of the Maori Party.

“The Police shooting of another unarmed young man, inevitably throws into question again, the tragedy known to the Wallace whanau and the issue of how Police respond to crisis situations” said Mrs Turia.

“I am familiar with the de-escalation training that mental health workers are required to attend, at least twice a year, and I wonder what thought has gone into the professional development for all front-line police officers to be equipped with the skills and techniques of restraint minimisation” said Mrs Turia.

“Obviously a tragedy of this nature is provoking questions in all communities” said Mrs Turia.

“People are asking why was it necessary to shoot the victim in the chest first? Why will the taxpayer end up paying for costly double investigations? How can measures be put in place to remedy confidence in the Police when events like this keep eroding that very faith?”

The Maori Party also noted the horrific timing of this latest police shooting, following circulation of an email from Christchurch Police which said: "To all the idiots out there who always say, `Why did the cops have to shoot him? He only had a (insert your choice of weapons here, ie knife, bat, club, whatever). He didn't have to be shot'. To that, I respond, `Tough crap .. shoot 'em'."

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“If such material is being widely circulated, it is evidence of a very disturbing police culture” said Mrs Turia. “There have to be other approaches available to police, when confronted with objects like a softball bat (the Waitata shooting) or in this latest case, a hammer”.

“The health sector may well be helpful to the Police bureaucracy, in providing some guidance about how to ‘de-escalate’ crisis situations, and try to calm down situations before they result in such tragic consequences”.

“And finally, this latest tragedy must not be exploited into another lobby for taser guns” said Mrs Turia. "Taser guns are not non-lethal weapons - they can, and do, kill people. The last thing we need to do, is arm the police with another lethal weapon, rather than arming them with less violent methods of policing”.

"It is very clear that despite the myriad of reports, reviews and recommendations produced by a range of professionals in response to the police shooting of Steven Wallace, the Police have taken very little on board".

Amnesty International has warned that tasers cause "intolerable pain and may exacerbate the risk of heart failure" leading to death, in people under the influence of drugs or with health problems.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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