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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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District Court judge has
criticised the heavy-handed techniques of one senior south Auckland police
officer and condemned a wider police culture as "sick". That culture 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 scathing view on police culture 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
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 am the
property of 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, swinging a machete and axe and wearing
a sign saying "RIP to Section 4". 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 practices 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 was
not buying it. "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 of police professional standards confirmed that removing Solomona
from the force was "one of the options open to them". A spokeswoman for
Manukau-Counties Police said police chiefs would not comment as the matter
was still before the court. Police commissioner Rob
Robinson was unavailable for comment. |
