It said this would have only grown if they did not attempt to do something. The report mused there was growing frustration about police inaction towards the occupiers in the initial days. The IPCA concluded the operation was hurriedly executed by an under-resourced unit and was always "unlikely to succeed".īut "that does not mean it was unjustified". It meant staff at the custody unit were unable to comply with the legal requirement to advise all detainees of their rights and facilitate access to a lawyer. Not enough notice was given to staff tasked with processing those arrested, so there was no time to bring on more staff to help. The lack of preparation, and the sheer number of arrests, meant police broke both legal protections - and their own internal rules - for the treatment of those in custody (although the watchdog concludes the use of force was "generally reasonable"). Poor evidence recording meant many charges had to be withdrawn, with the IPCA concluding the majority of charges should not have been laid. The report said the trespass laws were ill-equipped to deal with a large-scale event like the protest. Police failed to tell all protesters that they must leave the Parliament grounds in the manner required by the Trespass Act. Officers had not been told clearly what was intended, and some did not have proper equipment. The watchdog found police were unprepared for the operation - there was poor planning and resourcing, some actions were unlawful, and they should have abandoned the attempt earlier. ![]() The report said police made the decision to move in that day independently, and there was no undue political interference. Officers formed a line at 8am and a wall of officers and protesters clashed - 108 people were arrested, but the attempt to end the protest failed. ![]() On 10 February, a few days after several hundred protesters had set up tents on Parliament's lawn and some surrounding areas grounds, police tried to force them out. He said he was immensely proud of the work of staff throughout the protest and on the final day of the occupation. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster welcomed the IPCA's findings that police served the New Zealand public well overall. "This report should not be interpreted that police failed in their policing of the protest occupation, we have written it not only to review what police did but to make a constructive contribution to the ongoing work within police to improve public order policing."Īndrew Coster. demonstrate there were some deficiencies in the policing of the occupation, which will provide police with valuable lessons in terms of planning for any such event in the future. "This was a wide-ranging review," Judge Colin Doherty said when addressing media on Thursday. It also said issues collecting evidence during the two mass arrests meant many charges had to be dropped. Other problems pointed out included deploying trainee and recent graduate officers with little training. The IPCA also said police broke legal protections for the treatment of some of those arrested during the first attempt to break up the occupation. ![]() It is investigating 19 incidents, with provisional findings showing police actions were unjustified on six occasions. Nearly 2000 complaints about officers were made to the IPCA. The IPCA concluded there were some isolated incidents of potentially excessive force by officers, which were being investigated separately. It said some officers were not given enough protective gear on that final day, resulting in a number of staff injuries. The IPCA said all police defensive measures that day - including shields, pepper spray and batons - were justified.īut it also found a number of faults by police. The occupation culminated in a riot where officers faced "violent behaviour" from some protesters, who pelted them with bricks and other objects. It found almost all officers exercised professionalism and restraint dealing with a "level of public disorder rarely seen in New Zealand". The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has released its more than 200-page report into police actions during the three-week long illegal occupation of the Beehive precinct and surrounding areas in February and March last year.
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