The police have announced early this morning that they have apprehended three men concerning the murder of Navtej Singh. Its great to hear that the police have acted quickly on this, however there have been some cries of police barbarism in thier efforts to locate these vile people.
Police raids on several houses in South Auckland resulted in bewilderment by the occupants, including children. One teenager reported being hit by a police rifle in the head. Comparisons between such actions and the Dawn raids of the 80’s could be tenuously drawn.
But at the end of the day, the police should be given the benefit of the doubt in such situations. If the house they had been raiding HAD had the shooters inside, things could have gotten messy quickly. The Police have a duty to protect each other, as well as members of the public. Furthermore it appears this authoratative crackdown has had the desired effects. Two men are charged with murder and firearms offenses (party liability at work), and a third has been charged with being an accessory.
The police have been criticized with being too soft in thier investigations — in particular the Kahui affair, and too harsh — during the raid of Ruatoki. It appears they struck a good balance here. In situations like this, its important to recognize the good work the police can do in this country.
Especially when the other story to break this morning is this one…