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Marion van Dijk/Stuff
The inspector has since resigned. (File photo)
A top cop who breached Covid-19 restrictions by taking a group of people across the then-border of Auckland to attend a tangi has resigned.
According to a report released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) on Thursday, Inspector Regan Tamihere breached the Covid-19 Health Order in place at the time by taking the group out of Auckland on September 5, 2021 in a police car.
At the time, Tāmaki Makaurau was in Alert Level Four while the rest of the country was in Alert Level Three due to the community transmission of the Delta Variant.
Tamihere was the district’s Māori Responsiveness Manager and considered it a part of his policing role to uphold what he saw as Crown obligations to the Māori community under te Tiriti o Waitangi, the IPCA said.
Judge Kenneth Johnston KC found that while Tamihere didn’t gain anything personally from his actions, he had “overstepped his role and gone beyond his authority”.
“His actions did not uphold the Health Order and they were also not within the boundaries of the law and police discretion. Effectively, he disregarded the law,” Judge Johnston said.
The IPCA found that Tamihere also tried to help another group cross the border just four days later.
The result, the IPCA said, was an “impinging on public trust and confidence in the New Zealand Police”.
STUFF
The mandatory seven day isolation period for people with Covid-19, as well as the requirement to wear face masks in health facilities, will be scrapped.
The District Commander also didn’t ensure the incident was fully investigated at the time, the IPCA ruled.
Police said they acknowledged the findings of the IPCA’s report.
Deputy Commissioner Chris de Wattignar said the officer involved was working for no personal gain to himself and instead out of empathy for a grieving whānau.
“Police dealt with millions of vehicle movements, along with thousands of people, successfully, during the period the Auckland border checkpoints were in operation.
“It was a demanding and challenging period for police staff who were called upon to make tough decisions every day,” de Wattignar said.
The Health Order was clear that it applied to all New Zealanders and that any exemptions for movement through the checkpoints needed to be solely granted by the Ministry of Health, he said.
“A criminal investigation was carried out by police and while we found that the officer acted in contravention of the Act, it was deemed not in the public interest to prosecute.”
An employment investigation was initiated but not concluded as the officer resigned during the process, de Wattignar said.
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