Career ‘not affected’

Press, 11 August 1982, Page 4

Career ‘not affected’

PA Wellington . The future police career of Senior-Sergeant Ross Meurant would not be affected by his book on the Springbok tour, said the Commissioner of Police, Mr R. J. Walton yesterday. . ' ■ “He has to offend before his career can be affected," Mr Walton said. “Freedom of speech is not an offehce. “But I am only one member of the Promotions Board."

'■Mr Walton, who said he had skimmed through the book,. “Red Squad Story,” said. “Mr Meurant apparently does not have confidence in me.”

However, a public expression of no-confidence in the commissioner was not an offence. It was an expression of opinion, to which Mr Meurant was entitled. Asked if he would consider appointing Mr Meurant again to a similar position to that

which he held during the tour, second-in-command of. the Red Squad. Mr Walton said, "I have no reason to think otherwise at this stage. He is a good, hard policeman admirably suited to such a job.” Mr Walton said that he was not happy' with the close social relationship which, the book revealed, developed between Springbok players and Red Squad members during the tour. Such an apparent lack of impartiality would upset many people. He could understand how such a relationship could develop between two groups thrown closely together. “But I would rather it had not happened." he said. “But the fact that they were close to the Springboks did not affect their policing in any way. I am quite sure that when they went on the field they did their job properly.”

Mr Walton said he did not agree with the book's suggestion that the batoning of protesters in Molesworth Street, Wellington, was an effort by the police to regain public respect after the failure to prevent the invasion by demonstrators of Hamilton’s Rugby Park. The turning point in the tour took place at Palmerston North where 100 policemen faced abuse and missiles from demonstrators and. retained absolute control, he said.

"Molesworth Street was a relatively minor incident.” Mr Walton said. "Batons had been used to a much greater extent at Gisborne and Hamilton.”

Mr Walton produced a copy, of the police tour publi-. cation, a 130-page "Blue Book"' a training. manual containing a critique of police . performance during the tour. .

The police had rewritten their operations manual and general - instructions relating to dealing with , demonstrations, he. said. One area covered was the need to warn people, to ensure that they were aware of what might happen. “Although we used loudhailers, people might not have heard the instructions issued in Molesworth Street,” Mr Walton said. Asked if he considered the “Blue Book" to be of more value than "The Red Squad Story,” Mr Walton said. “More value,to the police, certainly." ■ Mr Meurant said in Auckland yesterday that he intended to stay in the police. He said that some people had suggested that his book would not affect his career.. There was no question about his loyalty to police members whose objective was “catching villains."