An incident in which a group of people, including a
4-year-old, were pepper-sprayed by police in the US was just
a cultural misunderstanding and no one will be charged,
prosecutors say.
It was reportedly the first time Utah police had seen a haka
after fans at an American high school football game performed
the Maori challenge in October last year.
A group of relatives of a player for the Roosevelt (Utah)
Union High football team was attacked with pepper spray by
police officers in Roosevelt, Utah, while performing the haka
shortly after Uintah's 17-14 victory.
The group was told to move after reportedly blocking the exit
from the field and but instead began the haka instead.
It was then that police started spraying.
"I've never seen anything like it," Union fan Jason Kelly
told the Deseret News. "It was totally unprovoked."
The pepper spray spread far beyond the performers, reaching
players and fans, including a dozen people from a single
family, one aged 4.
After an internal police investigation cleared the officers
of misconduct, Uintah County Attorney G. Mark Thomas opened
an investigation at the request of the Utah chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union, which claimed the police
report was "anything but objective".
Mr Thomas today released a 21-page report stating there was
insufficient evidence that either the dancers or the officers
committed a crime, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
"Witnesses and participants of the event each experienced the
events having come from a different background or
experiences,'' it said.
"This appears to have colored what they perceived and may
account for some of the differences."
American Civil Liberties Union of Utah interim legal director
Joe Cohn said the report showed the officers should be
charged with assault.
He pointed to a statement attributed to one of them saying he
fired the pepper spray after dancers ignored his command to
"make a hole" in the crowd, the Tribune reported.
The haka has become popular with at least a dozen American
football teams at US high schools, especially those with
large numbers of Polynesians.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.
Submitted by RedTussock on Tue, 07/02/2012 - 9:07pm.
We had the great good fortune to trundle up to Hawea over the
weekend to see the outlaws ... what a great day the Hawea
people put on, a classic Townies Vs Country day ... with
cricket, volleyball, and some neat stuff for the kids ... a
small town celebrating its identity, so much better than the
national news take on the 100 or so rowdy and
rude protesters at Waitangi who have little or no
respect for the people of Waitangi. or Waitangi day... But
then who am I to comment on Waitangi day... it seems that if
you're not Maori ... then don't have an opinion. Let's go
back to calling it NZ day, and let's chuck the treaty out,
because all it seems to do is cause argument and discord ...
let's face it, you cannot convince me that the Crown at the
time of the treaty signing took the wording of the treaty
terribly seriously ... we are talking about an empire that at
the time just took or stole whatever it wanted anyway. Seems
to me that 21st century NZers are trying to attribute some
sort of divine grandeur into a piece of
Empirical hoodwinkery. I guess merely uttering the fact
is blasphemous in the North Island, whereas down here in the
South, I get the feeling we are all a bit confused and
bemused by some of the nonsense surrounding "The Treaty". Ah
well that is Southlanders for you eh ..
Submitted by thehighlander on Sat, 04/02/2012 - 12:11am.
This recent explosion of people preforming the Maori Haka is
becoming an insult to Maori and embarrassment to many New
Zealanders. The true meaning of the Haka appears to be long
forgotten by many. For people to preform it when a swimmer
comes in third, or at a burial, or a school concert is
completely and utterly wrong and an insult. I suppose the
next meeting of the knitting club or a parent/teachers
meeting will be performing the Haka. Or indeed the next DCC
council meeting.
Submitted by RedTussock on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 4:48pm.
US law enforcement is populated by bigots and racist red
necks. Recent polls suggest a large percentage of US voters
think the world was created only 6000 yrs ago ... which kinda
is an insult to cultures throughout the world that are older
than 6000 yrs.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.