Vigilantes not charged

Press, 4 March 1981, Page 7

Vigilantes not charged

:pA' / Rotoruaii The jCting Rotorua police ] district/ commander, Mr G. R. KnUtt, explained why no < charge!' had been laid against ■ the 90fnembers of a vigilante grcupAvhich was intercepted ( by tit P° lice on Saturday : 11 'polce set up a roadblock : in IMalfroy Road and stopfed a convoy of 18 cars, carrying about 90 people. Mi Knight .after being asked why no charges hadbeen laid against members/ of the vigilante group, said.: the pdice had found no evi-! dence’of clear-cut offences,: arid "in view of the situation ■■ at.the time and the co-oper-l ation received from people [ who accepted police advice,, the police decided that; warniigs to a few of tile, people concerned was 311 that whs necessary’. j He said that.over the last few \veeks there. had been isolated fights in hotds. Sometimes the fights were between opposing gang members, and sometimes be-

itween a gang member and a patron of the bar. It appeared that on Saturday the people decided they were goirig. to deal themselves with a particular gang. The. 18-car convoy was seen by the police, and was stopped before it could reach its destination. “We don’t want the public taking things into their own hands,” said Mr Knight. “People who get involved in ■hotel brawls should not takei ithe matter further — that is ! for the police.” | I The action of the police; ;was praised by the Mayor of; Rotorua. Mr J. E. Keaney. I I “It is pretty heartening! /that our local police seem to; 'have their finger in the: i pulse of things and can act ■so quickly to prevent real trouble,” he said. But Mr Keaney said he was disturbed that the vigilantes had apparently been provoked to such ah extent that they were prepared to take the”law into their own hands.