“THE THIRD DEGREE”

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9788, 11 October 1917, Page 4

“THE THIRD DEGREE”

LITTLE GIRL TERRORISED MR HERDMAN CHARGED WITH SHIELDING AN OFFICER. Allegations of "third degree” treatment by tho police in regard to tho arrest at Kawakawa in April, 1916, of a little girl, Isa Cookson, were made by Mr Vernon H. Reed in the House ot Representatives yesterday. Mr Reed had asked the Minister-in-Charge of the Police Department (the Hon. A. L. Herdman) to make public the result of the police inquiry into the case, which inquiry proved the little girl’s innocence. Mr Herdman replied that the result of the police inquiry into the circumstances showed that tho local constable was not guilty of exceeding his duty in tho action ho took in the matter. The child in question was not arrested nor publicly charged with theft by the police. Mr Reed said that the little girl was suspected of stealing money from the desk of a schoolmaster. In an endeavour to make the child confess the constable dangled lock-up keys in her face and had taken her to the police station. After her false confession the schoolmaster took the little girl in front of the while class and declared she was a thief. Mr G. Witty (Hiccarton) deprecated tho action of Mr Herdman in endeavouring to shield a policeman who had been guilty of such questionable behaviour. The constable should be "sacked” as he had damned the child for life. Mr J. Payne (Grey Lynn) said the torturing of this little girl into a false confession was similar to the "third degree” methods adopted to extract confessions from hardened criminals. - The little girl had been stopped on the public highway and taken to the station. Surely this was an arrest 1 Mr Herdman was dodging the question. He was shielding his Officer at the expense of blighting the future of a little girl of tender years. Mr J. A. Young (Waikato) said that the policeman had been guilty of cruel and barefaced intimidation of a little girl. In face of this someone should surely come forward and admit that a mistake had been made.