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An inquiry into police
culture will focus only on the South Auckland area, despite concerns it may
be widespread, the Government confirmed yesterday. Retired High Court
judge Sir David Tompkins QC has been appointed to oversee the inquiry
prompted by evidence hear during the trial of a South Auckland senior police
officer who was convicted of assaulting a 17-year-old. Trial Judge Bruce
Davidson described as "sick" police culture which included joke
photographs of machete-wielding men making death threats, and the
photographing of suspects made to wear demeaning signs. He condemned Senior
Sergeant Anthony Laime Solomona's conduct, which included photographing a
15-year-old boy wearing a sign that read "I am the property of Senior
Sergeant Solomona". Solomona has been
remanded for sentencing. Justice Minister Phil
Goff told MPs that the inquiry was necessary to "restore any confidence
that may have been lost because of the actions of a small minority of police
officers." Green MP Keith Locke
raised concerns that some officers had said behaviour similar to that
displayed by Solomona was more widespread. Sergeant John Nelson
told the court in the Solomona case he had seen similar stunts in numerous
police stations, but said not everyone was likely to get the joke. "The humour would
not be understood by non-police officers," Mr Nelson said then. Mr Goff said he
believed the inquiry would be confined to a narrow geographical area: "I
think the inquiry will focus in particular on the (Manukau)-Wiri policing
district where the allegation of that culture existing has been made." Mr Locke said there
also appeared to be a culture of "coverup" amongst the police and
cited one senior officer saying that police who went to the media were
"traitors who do it for money, a free lunch, sex or out of
stupidity". Mr Goff said it was the
police themselves that had investigated and prosecuted Solomona and this
showed the system did work. Another Green MP,
Nandor Tanczos said a case last year on the West Coast also showed that
problems in the police were spread around the country. West Coast man John
Menzies won $35,000 after a High Court civil trial in Christchurch last
November. Mr Menzies sued police
alleging four officers brutally beat him after threatening him with arrest
for no reason as he walked home from a West Coast hotel on July 8, 2000. The jury found in favour
of police on some matters but ruled Constable Terrence Hunt struck Mr Menzies
with a baton and a police torch and kicked him, then fabricated evidence in
order to prosecute and wrongfully imprison him. Mr Tanczos said it was
wrong that no disciplinary action was taken against Hunt. Mr Goff said 47 police
officers were disciplined last year for misconduct, 0.5 per cent of the
police force and this showed the problems were not widespread. |
