Bitter reaction to hotel brawl

Press, 22 December 1978, Page 4

Bitter reaction to hotel brawl

PA Auckland The brawl at the DB Mangere Hotel on Wednesday has provoked a bitter reaction from a member of the Manukau City Council, but the police say they have gang violence well in hand. Mr B. Edwards, a member of the council, said he was disturbed by the many violent incidents in South Auckland.

“I called in at the DB tavern after the brawl and was appalled with what I saw—blood and broken bottles.” he said. “These gutless attacks must be brought under control.

“Hooligan* wander the streets wearing chains which could crush a man’s skull like an eggshell but the police have an impossible task to control them.”

Chief Inspector R. C. Joyce said the Mangere incident was not a gang versus gang confrontation. It was more a hotel brawl that developed. “It is very difficult to stop these isolated incidents.” he said. ‘‘But a snecial police unit set up to deal with the gang situation three weeks ago has been doing very well.”

"The dialogue we have developed with the gangs has on occasions, taken the heat out of a possible flare up,” he said “Although there have been isolated incidents it could have been much worse without the unit.” The secretary of the Auckland branch of the Hotel Association (Mr W. M. Wilson) said licencees would not have any success controlling the problem if the police could not cope.

“This present rash of violence lends weight to our long standing request to have the right to refuse service in a public bar,” he said.

“We have asked our managers to call the police immediately there is a sign of trouble threatening,” he said. “But the police are overstretched and certainly noone is blaming them.”

A man was fined $lOO when ne appeared in the Magistrate’s Court at Otahuhu yesterday on a charge of assault in connection with the Mangere incident. A regular bar patron, he was seen hitting another man over the head with an ashtray.