Teenager accused of smoking weed requires police helicopter overkill

Police deny overreaction
Police have denied they overreacted when arresting Bailey Junior Kurariki on Friday night, saying reports of staff numbers had been exaggerated. Kurariki is back behind bars after allegedly breaching his parole conditions by using drugs. Kim Workman, former national director of the Prison Fellowship, said Kurariki's family had told him between 30 and 40 police officers surrounded the house and a helicopter hovered overhead as he was arrested. But Counties Manukau police spokeswoman Senior Sergeant Denise Traill said there were nothing like 30 police officers present.

Note they don’t deny they used a Police helicopter to arrest a teenager accused of smoking weed, and why don’t the Police tell us how many cops they sent into arrest a teenager accused of smoking weed, if it wasn’t 30 – how many were there? How can any level of Police + copters to arrest an allegation of weed look anything other than over kill? We sentenced a child to prison for nothing more than being a look out in a mugging that went wrong, most NZers, based on the hysteria created by the Michael Choy killing, seem to think that Bailey himself beat Michael Choy for several hours, I questioned the hysteria at the time, I questioned sending a child to prison and I questioned the rehabilitation available to him with the media glare is so firmly fixated on watching him fail once released – and I sure as hell question sending a chopper and teams of cops – not 30, but teams of cops into arrest him on suspicion of smoking a joint, the wider attitude towards Bailey and the manner in which we are treating him is jaw dropping and on some level reeks of outright racism.

Choy’s death was a tragic mistake what we are doing to Bailey is a tragedy.