August 06, 2019
Police tactics at Ihumātao could backfire.
There's a suggestion last night's police response at Ihumātao has given the protest a second wind.
Police had increased their presence on Sunday but those numbers have since decreased.
A video shared on social media late yesterday appeared to show Ihumaata protector Pania Newton being manhandled by police, and led to a call to action.
Waatea journalist Tumamao Harawira says when he arrived at 10.30pm there were almost 2000 people confronting the police lines.
"Some of these guerilla warfare tactics the police have decided to employ in the hope of I guess deescalating the situation had the complete opposite effect. I would go so far as to say the police have facilitated a second wind in terms of the longevity and emotion attached to the protest," he says.
Mr Harawira says up to that point the police had been very good in managing the protest.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com