Not Bad

Of Hammers, Nails and Their Heads

Further to the recent police siege in Kawerau, [discussed here] one of our local opinionistas has got it right--at least it appears to us.

Here is Larry Williams, radio show host, giving us his view on what happened and its consequences. We find ourselves in full agreement.

It was a peaceful ending in the Bay of Plenty siege.

Police arrested Rhys Warren who allegedly shot four cops. He can count himself lucky to have come out alive.  Had the cops shot the gunman dead, it wouldn't have come as a shock considering the circumstances.

The alleged offender's whanau have taken aim at the cops. They reckon that they could've ended the siege earlier.  How would we know? How would we know that they wouldn't make the stand-off worse?

The police were faced with a hostile operation and they certainly didn't need the family hindering that.  That could've complicated an already tense situation. Meddling family was the last thing they needed.

Police are the experts, they are trained to deal with these situations, not civilians.  The whanau claims that police had a "preconceived outcome" and he would "come out in a box", that proved to be wrong. It looks nothing more than another anti-cop assault.  The alleged gunman was always in control of his own destiny - he could walkout with his hands up at any time.

It was in fact a Maori liaison officer, a police Inspector, who knew the family, that negotiated to end the siege, this shows that police got it right.  Considering four police officers had been shot, the police handled the incident impeccably. [NZ Herald]