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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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A District Court judge
has criticised the heavy-handed techniques of a senior South Auckland police
officer and condemned a wider police culture as "sick". That culture - as
outlined in court evidence - included joke photographs of machete-wielding
men making death threats, and the photographing of suspects made to wear
demeaning signs. Judge Bruce Davidson
delivered his view as he found Senior Sergeant Anthony Laime Solomona guilty
of assaulting a 17-year-old on the forecourt of a Manurewa service station in
February last year. He ruled Solomona had
gone overboard in arresting Angelo Turner for repeatedly using "a common
swear- word" after Solomona drove into his car. "I can see nothing
that Mr Turner had done to justify his arrest for breach of the peace." Solomona had told the
court he had arrested Mr Turner to cool what he believed was an increasingly
volatile situation with Mr Turner's friends. But Judge Davidson said
that Solomona's evidence in court had been "unconvincing and exaggerated
and designed to create the picture of an inflammatory situation". Why Solomona had not
simply apologised for hitting Mr Turner's car "is beyond my
comprehension", he said. Despite acquitting
Solomona on three further assault charges, and one charge of assault with a
weapon, Judge Davidson strongly condemned "some disturbing police
practices" brought to light during the hearing. These included the
photographing of a 15-year-old boy wearing a sign that read: "I belong
to Senior Sergeant Solomona" and the coercing of apology letters from
suspects. Judge Davidson also
lifted suppression on a photograph produced during the hearing. It depicted a
man in a police uniform and balaclava, holding a machete and axe while
standing beside a sign saying: "RIP to Section IV". Solomona, who headed
Section 4 at the Manukau-Wiri police station, last week told the court he
found the picture "quite amusing". Another officer,
Sergeant John Nelson, had told the court that taking pictures such as that of
the 15-year-old was common in police stations across New Zealand. The practice was part
of a police "culture" that was unlikely to be understood by the
average citizen. "It is a matter of
police culture. You get accustomed to it as your time in the police
increases." But Judge Davidson did
not accept the explanation. "The practices may
be reasonably widespread, especially in the South Auckland area. In my view,
the culture is as sick as the joke." Judge Davidson did not
enter a conviction against Solomona, but instead agreed to allow his counsel,
John Haigh, QC, the opportunity to file submissions for a discharge without
conviction. The matter will return
to Manukau District Court next week. Solomona will face a
police tribunal once the court matters are finalised. Detective Inspector
Keith Brady, officer in charge of the prosecution, yesterday confirmed that
removing Solomona from the force was "one of the options open to
them". Police Association
president Greg O'Connor last night said he had spoken to "senior"
South Auckland officers who were "very disturbed" by Judge
Davidson's comments. Mr O'Connor stressed
that such a culture was not endemic to police, but admitted that such behaviour
could occur from time to time. "What can happen
in police, in any organisation, is you can get a very small group who may
develop a culture ... but that doesn't last long. In the modern environment
[police] are just far too transparent for things like that to occur for any
length of time." Such behaviour, once
discovered, almost invariably ended up with those involved being disciplined,
or sent to court, he said. A lot of "very
good officers" would be hurt by those comments, Mr O'Connor said, but he
believed Judge Davidson may have made them based on "what he perceived
as a cross-section, but in the context of a trial". A spokeswoman for
Manukau-Counties Police said police district chiefs would not comment as the
matter was still before the court. Police Commissioner Rob
Robinson was last night unavailable for comment. |
