May 23, 2013
Police raids cause generational damage
Tūhoe leader Tamati Kruger says the Independent Police Conduct Authority report doesn't fix things for Tūhoe people caught up in what have now been found to be illegal actions by the police.
The IPCA backed the police decision to arrest people involved in alleged military style training camps in Te Urewera, but said community members in Taneatua and Ruatoki were illegally detained, searched and stopped during the October 2007 raids.
Mr Kruger says the tribe is considering further action, because the police still haven't faced up to the affect of their actions, and there is no relief for the victims.
"Those people are injured, damaged and hurt. I cannot think of what we have to do to mend and repair that. My own personal opinion is we now have two generations at least of Tūhoe people who will never have trust and confidence in the police," he says.
Mr Kruger is disappointed the Independent Police Conduct Authority accepted the police view that those planning the raids were right to keep the iwi liaison officers in the dark, because it confirms a view the role is a case of tokenism by the police.
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