MORE POLICE BUNGLING. Truth

NZ Truth, Issue 104, 15 June 1907, Page 4

MORE POLICE BUNGLING.

Truth

PtrBLtSHBD BVBET SATtJ&DAY MbBKrNG AT LU&E'S LANE (6^# MANMtelteS-' stbeet), Wellington, N-z-StJBSORn'TiON (IN ADVANdfij, I3S. PER ANNUM. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1907.

It woUld seem, judging from Ahc occasional remarks of Judges . and Magistrates m various parts of this colony, that there is a sort of- diVinity liediged round the Poii<Se Force of NeW Zealand; and frotn those, remarks the public at 6 led to think that the blue-coated bobby, like the King, can do no wrong. These occasional utterances from the Bench are such .. that this paper cannot, subscribe to, and, moreover, without hesitation it can be said that these same judicial utterances" are contrary ; to the 1 truth. %c pbiice in -Ne#. jZ/ea- 1 land are forever dioing- wrong, and damnable wron®, tbfc; and Avfaefcheii: it . \»& the merest of coincidences;..nevertheless, it is unfortunately the fact, that under Police Coimviißsi finer Dinnle's regime, there have been a. series of serious, iehsai'iontfl aikl ■ hideous ( blunders made bf his ' bUi^coiitocl 1 myrmidons, which cm uwv,(!y establish; a godd case- why a Royal Commission" of Rnquiiry into the admin-! ■fetration ,of New Zealand's ; Police J^brce should tVe bveM. T>]ve list of bungles and fohinders cbimiiiitted b'f late years by members of the N.o.' Police Force . is a black blot' on Dinhio's admihdstiaitibn, arid it is -mad-e all the v/or&e by the fact that invariably an attempt is made tb . cloak tirade blunders, by gagging ttvtv pfi&SS, and liMlng from the public the ' !*r6tttenness of affairs. The latest atod m>6st sensational of, police blundering comes itvQi Oamiiru, aiid tiheL local press of late 'have 'been: tondihg" ;the all-' with loud demaiiid'S idr r -a thor'bugh in vesti, action into the of the poli&e concerning. /ttoe; A*frest> on no less a charge than ; of s6doniy> of a young 1 man^^ri4m4d'Jo&epb 'Thompson. As an example of : 'hbw policemen m this free attd progressive country do ttveir duty- by the State and by an 'accused porsbn, the following statement, of the victim -will show :— ; '■ '' Etc Says : "Arrested Mohdiy. 1 SBlti March, .at Georgetown, at M.i R#tf tray's farm: Constables i ftfaddeft And ITi^d came. Without a wwrant. Asked nly name, iolA- them ' Thompson; Asked where 1 .-; .caiile from. Told them I cdrtid from Milton, and that in v people lived there. Constable F,teld said 'Ssta-nd up/; I want to have a g<>od lb<bk a.t ydU,' and -lie then said he^ would Mt o.i'festme on the descrip'tibnv M&ildrtn aa'id, 'He -Will tittve/ to come ■'•'; ( at i\hy rate.' t was thin attested' 1 Was br might iKtford tine Cwirt . hi Oamarii next day and r^m'aivflea, its there was no warrant held v by the police here for my arrest. ' Aalwtl to see a sbiicitor. Sa>v"Mf Creech, artd explained position to.him. He told me I had bettor t>s rema-ndod to Dunc'd'in. whei'6 my people' could Help me. Mciddan said to me that day I hM better admit "I IVjis I3arclay, as he had. a clear case /against me, and I was only ■ma.fci.Ti.g.- it worse for iiiyielf by^hbta'dmitting it. Brought' before Court; oil Wetlr . ner-day and remanded to ' l^unpdih. I, knew Sergeant King 1 m Bunodin. I Knew him at Milton, and I told this to 'the constable •. taking mo down to Dllnedin. . Tsic ' constable •told King I said I knew him,, and :he spoke to me. I saifl.-. to him. 'Yott , knbW nic and my people', ahd •-.you have often been at oUV hbilse.' He asked" tile tnafty A r juestiohk about Milton, and I answered ftinv.i Witnesses were brought to the station ; on tih« Thursday to ' identify -me as Barclay. I was btduoj&t, befoi'e tlws Court m pun-edln cm* Thursday and discharged. I was 'riot .ffiiven any tictoet or railway, expehses. I re-r turned .to Oamaru 6n the l^riclay andwwnt qut'tp (3eor£etow..h bnthS Friday afternoon. I lost slix. {lays* and was at that time making over £1 per day traT>l>ine; rabbits. I also lost my work rabibit .trappaJig- • T'hework I lost wouid have lasted me about, two months , and I would ■"■ earn ahoui 12/6 a day a/t it. I will now earn only from £1 to £1 2/6 per Week.*' . .... .' •• * ■'','' • '•' This sta^ementl however, Wad' as it is, indicating how rotten 'must have been the reed upon which the ppnea rested 1 , .is not one quarter df. the real facts. The circumstances surrounding tire w>hole case f rpan beginntog to end are such as to constitute a charge of a wilful and thoroughly unjustifiable misuse of police power by the local pblice. The arrest o i an innocent man on any charge is a serious matter, courting the fullest enquiry ;, but when the crime alleged is the aibominable offence of ' sodomy , and when thear« is not the < slightest foundation fbP such a :obarge, ; what can be said other than this :' that no monetary compensation can -forever efface the stigma, the 'soul-searing brand of infamy, the blackened memory of such an accusation. r .* Society aftects to forgive amd forgjet tite crime of a man, where moral depravity.is not betrayed ; it never forgets, it" is not empowered to forgive the ■ moral leper. Properly* he is socially ostracised. For the man, no matter how clearly proved . bis innocence of a charge of sodomy maybe, there is no rest. The fact of an accusation | being made is by many held- to be proof positive of his guilt. The accused sodomist lias forever the bony finger of ignominy pointed at him, and no amount of judicial whitewashing will dispel the doiibt 'that be might be guilty. In rec-aM to the charge made against Thompson, it must be mentioned that the offence is alleged to have taken place five years ago, and the fact of Thompson's arrest 6ft such a charge after -such a lanse bf time, naturalJv enough, provided sensational headings io't the Dunedin press, and tbß"Punedin Star" gave to the world_ulider , tbe big captious heading- of .''The Arm Of the Law," "After Five Yefirs/' the information that Joseph .•.Thompson was on March 25 arrested at George--toTfn on a olrargo of sodomy, a K |M e > it must be .eniph*>slced, • that wwp was no cvidoiicc io support. •«' • • • ; Who made the charge and t^c sort of person rpsponsihle for "the infbrmatiea reeeireii" te yrkipkt tbe p>tfee

actesi. is toid by the "Oamaru Mail" of May 31 -last :— It was oil the sacred • word and honor of a fe'lott named Macdonald, alias Murphy, that Thompson was hunted' down. This fellow .hoaxed the police by representing that Thompson Was the man Who committed the offence, and for whom the police, were seeking- As Barclay Was the name of the offender, he told them that Thompson was really' Barclay masquerading under an assumod name. The yarn which this criminal splin was so obviously a lie that the police might easily have avoided the pitfall which ■ .' die had , prepar&d for them. The crime was committed , six years ago. The real culprit was khown to have been 27 years of ago when he ■ committed it. Thompson is only 24 now.

There is not the slightest doubt, whatever of Thompson's innocence, and np one knows it better than Police Commissioner Dinnic himself. There has not been given Thompson the, customary "discharged without a stain, on your character.:' Such would never do, as it would be a tacit admission 'by the police that they •had - blundered and bungled, or, in -a few words,, that they had made a miserable mess of everything. In ~ ttced, Commissioner Dinnie, forced to perceive that there has been a horrible bungle, has made an offer of £10 to Thompson, m full satisfaction of his very proper demand for compensation. What the devil does Dinnie take Thompson for. He was told that if he refused the Offer nothing further could be considered m the matter, and "Truth's" advice to Thompson is not to let the matter drop; There has been a cruel and cowardly misuse of police power, and the couutry will have to pay fcfr--.it. Thompson, notwithstanding, the fact .that the police failed to prove v their charge, that he was illegally arrested, that , he was shut up m gaol for tlireo or foil* dftys, that. . he:- was badgered and . bullied by, that disgrace to humanity, Madden,, to admit his guilt of a crime of which be was innocent, seems to be even now a marked man. The cowards- in uniform have not itJie honesty to admit that he is innocent, though the offer of a "tenner" from head-quart-ers indicates what ; "authority" thinks of the bungling. Again "to uUot6 the Oamaru' "Mail" :— ' "The police V attitude through- ; out towards their victim impresses Yone as having been inspired by annoyance that Thompson was not the : disreputable character they wanted him to be, that ho persisted m his blamelessness, Andjbhat ho succeeded ih proving the police to have made a gross and cm ite unnecessary blunder. The ,■ police have been cruol to Thompson from start to finish.". ' :'• ■- .. •■■ ■ \ • ■. :• ■ Md further on it declares that :— 1 "There v is an unpleasant resemblance between' the treatment of Thompson and those .Russiah (methods which, daily appal and disgust the world. The only . difference is . that the ..'•■ injured man as offered £10 as the price of his monetary sacrifices. As for his reputation, . what is that to the set or men .Who are riot paid to vv have any heart. If THoinpsson had 'been ' a property owner and had suffered any loss through State action, ho „■:. wouM have "been given ,. compensation bearing . some relation , to that loss. There^ would have beeft an as- •• sessment, and a judicial fuss and expense to ensure Scrupulous justice. Put Thompson is a nrsft Who has nothing but his good reputation and his laborious work to carry him through the world. Who 1 assessed at £10 the damage which' Thomosbn has suffered ? His monetary loss he reckons at £20. It might easily be that, and the Stai>e should have paid the- amount willingly..!' , ; It is not so much, however, with what sum of money shall comp&nsatc Thorn pspntiiat "Truth" is 1 npW concerning itself. What we . want to know is how? much iono-er does : Police CbjhmissiOher Dinriie intend; to keep the imtnaciUate Mickey Madden' m the force. We! hear it glibly g&ifr-. bled from the Supreme and Police Court Bench that the police conserve the rights of an 1 accused person' m eyery possible Way. That every assistattce is attorcjed him , "that the police! will - with as much ,/readihess secure evidence tendingi to prove a prisoner's innocence as thfey will to prove his guilt,. l A, beautiful, example of this noble duty of the* police is pro-, vided m the conduct qt ; Constable Mickey Madden.' .Though one - constable, no doubt Maddens subordinate, Was thoroughly convinced that Thompson was ridt Barclay 4 Madden showed what a-, splendid painstaking officer he is by" declaring, "He will have to come, at any rate,!' eveh, too,, when they Md no warrant for his arrest. Again, the cowardly, cur-like conduct of Madden m urging Thompson to admit he was Barclay, and that he had a dear case against himself ought -to receive the attention of Police Commissioner Dinnie, because, m tti© mildest language possible, m making such a statement, Madden has proved himself to be an unholy and unmitigated liar. The assertion, too, ' that : it not-admit-ting that he was Barclay, Thompson was making it Worse for himself, indicates clearly the linos on which some New Zealand policemen are taught to do their duty. It has beeh declared to "Truth" that this mad Mickey Madden man is a glorious ignoramus, hardly car able of writing his own name. He is more a gaoler than a policeman, and how he came to be sent on the mission of effecting Thompson's arrest, can no doubt be explained by bis .superior officer. Maddens conduct m this case is typical of the tactics adopted by the police all over New Zealand, and now that "the game is up" so far "as Madden is concerned it will be interesting to note how Police Com-; missioner Dinnie proposes to deal with him: This Thompson case is f>«e of the biggest blxmflers made, and it therefore is to be hoped that the Government will recognise the young | man's feiaim. He has been foully wr'cne-ed\ and the least that can be deiig ii? to amply compensate him.