"THE THIRD DEGREE."

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10105, 12 October 1917, Page 3

"THE THIRD DEGREE. "

ALLEGATIONS BY MR VERNON HEED. I Allegations of: "third degree" treatment bv thu police in regard to the arrest ai Ka\vakawa\in April, 1916, of a littlo girl, Isa Cookson', wore made by Mr Vernon 11. Reed in iho House of Representatives yoslo'Mii'i.v. Mr Reed had asked the Min-istor-in-l'harge' of the Police Department! (the iton. A. L. Hordman) to make public the i-£'.—n 11 of the police enquiry into die case, whicji enquiry proved die littlo girl's itmocPNCJ!. Mr lierdiiiaii replied that the it,siilt of the police enquiry into the circumstances showed that the local countable, was not guilty of exceeding his duty in (he action in* Icok in iho matter. 'Die child in question was not arrested nor publicly charged with theft liv di" police. Mr Iteed 'said that the littlo girl was Buspocted of stealing money from the desk of a schoolmaster. In an endeavour lo make tho child cant',..-, llie constable dangled lock -up keys in her face and had taken her to tho po'lice station. After her false confession the schoolmaster took the little girl in front of tho whole class and declared she was it thief. Mr G. Witty (Riccarton) deprecated the action of Mr ilerdman in endeavouring to shield a policeman who had been guilty of such questionable behaviour. The constable should bo "sacked" as ho had damned the child for life. Mr J. L'ayno '(Grey Lynn) said the torturing of this little girl into a, false confession was similar to the "third degree" methods adopted to extract confession:. from hafden'od criminals. The little girl had. been-stopped'on tin* public highway and taken lo the station. Surely this was ,an arrest-! Mr Herdman was dodging i iho question. Ho was shielding his ollicer a! the expense of blighting dm future of a little girl offender years. ! Mr J. A. Voung (Waikato) said that the policeman "had been guilty of cruel land barefaced intimidation ol a little girl. I In face of this'someone should surely como j forward aud'admit that a mistake had been made. ' >'