Whangamatā riot: Cop kicks youth in back during NYE riot
Whangamatā riot: Cop kicks youth in back during NYE riot Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 9:14AM
Police are defending their use of force to dispel hundreds of rioting drunk teens in Whangamatā after video emerged of an officer kicking a young person in the back.
It follows a night of violence in the New Year s Eve holiday hotspot which resulted in 23 arrests and left young women with gashes from thrown bottles.
As police clad in riot gear advance on the mass, the new video shows one officer kicking a young person sitting on a fencepost in the lower back.
A number of the 22 arrests made in Whangamata last night can be linked to the chaos caused by an army of boozed teens
A number of the 22 arrests made in Whangamata last night can be linked to the chaos caused by an army of boozed teens 1 January 2021
Police had to arm themselves with shields and batons to control the riot, as some people climbed up onto the roof of Blackies Cafe, hurling bottles into the crowd.
Eastern Waikato Area Commander Inspector Dean Anderson says this isn t the way they wanted to see in the new year.
He says people should be able to go out and enjoy New Year s Eve without the fear of being bottled.