Ted Johnston. BSc BA LLB
Criminal Barrister
Co-leader Conservative party
Ted Johnston Co-Leader of the ‘Conservative’ party, states:
The action by the officer kneeling on the neck of the naked woman who was held face down by 2 officers and cuffed is completely unacceptable.
She had no weapons, which could be seen as she had no clothing. She could not struggle nor move once cuffed face down and held by two police officers. A sheet did not have to be held on top of her by the weight of the officer’s body through his knee.
She was not struggling to rise. She was no danger.
It was a similar position kneeling on the neck as caused the death of Floyd in the US and is dangerous. Luckily for all, it was not for a lengthy period.
While the actions by police were carried out in a very charged atmosphere and other prior actions of the crowd were not always carried out in a calm manner, kneeling on the neck of a completely helpless arrested individual in this fashion is completely unacceptable at any time.
The defence of this indefensible action of a police officer by Superintendant Corrie Parnel is also unacceptable.
The police should not be able to take these actions with impunity. They need to take responsibility, admit fault and ensure it does not reoccur. The officer’s actions may be judged by the entire events, however, in New Zealand this behaviour is not and should never be tolerated as acceptable.
That is on the slippery slope to a police state.
