Newstalk ZB
Is there racism in our police? Is it systemic? In Northland, many Māori parents raise their children to be cautious when encountering police. But what happens when a young Māori man didn’t grow up in New Zealand and didn’t get “the talk”? David Fisher reports. Jamie Lawry had never encountered police until he tried to help someone on his way home from a family dinner. For young Māori men in Northland, encounters with police are all-too common – but Lawry didn’t grow up in New Zealand. He spent years in Brisbane, Australia, with grandparents, returning to New Zealand in May 2021 hoping to connect with his culture. And then came that first brush with the law: police pinning him to the ground with a knee to the back of his neck as they handcuffed him. He wonders if it was racism. That’s because CCTV footage didn’t support the police version of events that led to the forceful arrest, five hours in custody, a list of criminal charges and almost four years in the court system. Then after all that, Lawry was found not guilty. Jamie Lawry after being found not guilty of charges of resisting arrest, disorderly behaviour and assault. Photo / David Fisher One night out in Whangārei Early Saturday morning on March 12, 2022, in central Whangārei, Jamie Lawry was sitting on a low brick wall chatting to a man we’ll call Burgundy Shirt. CCTV cameras had captured Burgundy Shirt’s escapades since leaving the Grand Hotel a short way down the road. He had taken exception to another man in a car park over the road from the pub. The two men had punched each other in the head a few times before throwing their arms around each other and going their separate ways. Weaving off down Bank St, Burgundy Shirt then saw a couple of the council’s City Safe security staff. “Watch out for this dude. We’ve had problems with him,” said guard Adam Barclay as Burgundy Shirt approached. The other, Mark Todd, replied: “Oh yeah, he’s the one that charges us.” Their voices were captured on body cameras. As predicted, CCTV footage shows Burgundy Shirt lunging at the guards. The man in the burgundy shirt (left) was pursuing City Safe officers until, in the foreground, Jamie Lawry stepped in. Over a handful of minutes, Burgundy Shirt charges at and menaces the guards while they move to stay out of his way. Barclay calls for police support. As the CCTV camera ticks over to 12.36am, Jamie Lawry (Ngāti Wai, Ngāpuhi-Nui-tonu, Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) walks into view. He briefly chats to the guards as Burgundy Shirt turns again to focus on the pair. Video captures the moment – as described by Todd – that Lawry began “trying to calm” Burgundy Shirt. “I thought to myself ‘good on him’ for trying to calm [him] down … trying to de-escalate the situation,” Todd said. Lawry shepherds the man away from the guards, up Bank St. Their heads are close, as if talking. Each time Burgundy Shirt tries to turn back, Lawry steers the man forwards. Todd later gave a statement saying that he had been so concerned for himself and Barclay he thought they might have been forced to defend themselves. Jamie Lawry is pushed by the man in the burgundy shirt (at left) as he attempts to calm him. It’s five minutes since Lawry arrived and his efforts appear to have worked. He sits with Burgundy Shirt on the low brick wall and the CCTV operator breaks away to scan the street. This footage – and that from the security guards’ body cameras – would be critical to Lawry’s defence. Working for Lawry’s lawyer, private investigator Mike Sabin recovered it after police told the district court it was “too grainy” to be of use. The footage captured Burgundy Shirt fighting in the car park, and later he and Lawry sitting on the wall. Another angle showed the guards down the road talking to others on a Friday night out. Todd: “Things seem to calm down and we were just watching from across the road and then the police turned up.” ‘Then the police turned up’ Four officers arrived early that morning i...
Go to News Site