November 23, 2017
Police officers found not guilty
Relief for two police officers and red faces for their colleagues today as am Auckland High Court jury found Inspector Hurimoana Dennis and Sergeant Vaughan Perry not guilty of kidnapping.
The pair were charged after a 17 year old boy complained the had contrived a scheme to scare him into shifting to Australia to break his relationship with a 15 year old girl.
The jury found them not guilty of the mock arrest.
Outside the four Mr Dennis said the past two and a half years had been absolutely humiliating for him and his family.
He and Mr Perry were proud Maori police officers concerned about the number of young Maori men coming into the justice system.
Their actions could best be described as practical commonsense big picture policing with a bit of heart.
He hopes the young people do well and pick up better role models as they move forward in their lives.
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