OPINION
On Kiwiblog, and now the NZ Herald, a criminal defence lawyer, Lucy Rogers, has written about the illegal and high-handed approach of NZ Police to silence her protest at the pro-terrorism march over the weekend in Auckland.
A criminal defence lawyer who was at a pro-Palestine protest on Auckland’s Queen St claims police wrongfully arrested her as she peacefully held up a placard.
Lucy Rogers, who told the Herald she was present as an “anti-hypocrisy” protester wanting to highlight violence committed by both sides in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, was arrested for breach of the peace and failure to comply with the lawful instructions of a police officer.
“They [police] just wanted to get me out of sight and shut me up for the duration of the protest,” Rogers claimed, calling the arrest on Saturday a “misuse of power”.
But police alleged Rogers was attempting to “antagonise” the crowd and their role during protests was to uphold the law.
Rogers was holding a sign reading, “Selective condemnation of genocide is evil”.
“I was standing silently and peacefully several metres away from the protesters with the sign above my head,” she said.
“I know – I’m familiar with the law, and it’s absolute nonsense that the protesters reasonably believed that I was threatening them.”
In a video of the arrest supplied to the Herald, a police officer can be heard telling Rogers the pro-Palestine protesters were “going to get upset [with the sign] and then it’s going to start a riot”.
NZ Herald
This is typical of the behaviour of the Police. Ask any licenced firearms owner about the illegal activities of Police when they want to look in your car or turn up unexpectedly at your address. There are laws to follow, and they willfully ignore or intentionally breach them.
Fortunately, the Free Speech Union is onto it as well:
Rogers contacted the Free Speech Union about the arrest, who have since gone in to bat for her, saying they would write to police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Auckland District Commander Karyn Malthus, as well as lay a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Free Speech Union chief executive Jonathan Ayling said police quashed Rogers’ right to free expression and said police “must not fall into the trap of using ‘breach of the peace’ laws to silence legitimate speech as has become common overseas”.
He said: “Commissioner Coster must ensure this behaviour is swiftly stamped out and that the police affirm their role in protecting peaceful protest and counter-protest, not preventing it themselves.”
Acting Superintendent Jacqui Whittaker, the relieving Auckland City District Commander, told the Herald officers “were required to engage with a female whose behaviour gave rise for concern”.
NZ Herald
See, there they go lying about the incident that was captured on video. The Police are almost as bad as Newsweek who ran a headline at the weekend that Trump was booed when attending a football game. He wasn’t of course, and the video of the event proves it, but that doesn’t stop them lying. The Police are just the same.
We know the Police are pro-violent trannies, and now it appears they are pro-terrorist activities and anti-the-truth.
No wonder the general population has lost trust in the Police.
If you are a pro-Israel protestor you’d be better protected from the mob by Man Up and Brian Tamaki than you would be by the NZ Police, and that is just sad.
NZ Police must do better. This is not their finest hour.
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