CLASH WITH POLICE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIV, Issue 20985, 14 March 1938, Page 6

CLASH WITH POLICE

SEAFARERS HEAVILY FINED By Telegraph—Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, March 12. A melee in which several members of the crew of the Tainui attempted to rescue three men from police custody occurred at Lyttelton yesterday afternoon, as a result of which three of the crew appeared in Court to-day on various charges, the men appearing handcuffed, and later were removed under a strong police guard, still handcuffed. The trouble started with a disturbance on the train from Christchurch, as a result of which the guard telephoned the Lyttelton police to meet the train on arrival The men were travelling on second-class tickets in a first-class carriage, and when the guard remonstrated he was struck on the side of the neck, and told he would be killed if he reportd the matter. When the train arrived, the guard pointed out George Henry Whiting, and the police endeavoured to arrest him. He had to be thrown and handcuffed. The police met a crowd of men on the street, and a further struggle ensued, until police reinforcements arrived and secured two other men. In Court, Whiting was convicted and discharged on a charge of assault, fined £1 for disorderly conduct, and fined £5 each on charges of obstructing the police and using obscene language. William Flanagan, a fireman, was fined £1 for disorderly behaviour, £5 for resisting the police, and £5 for using obscene language. For disorderly behaviour and obstructing the police Walter Minard, a ship’s cook, was fined £2.