Farmers raise concerns over management of police emergency

Federated Farmers is calling for a debriefing with police and Fonterra following today’s apprehension of the Norsewood gunman.

 

“This is not a criticism of any individual police officer, but it seems some very strange decisions were made throughout the course of this incident,” says David Hunt, Federated Farmers Hawke’s Bay Dairy chairperson.

 

“Although the two-day manhunt for fugitive David Bourke was extraordinary, such events are sadly becoming more common. You need look no further than Napier gunman Jan Molenaar’s three-day siege with police in May.

 

“In the case of Norsewood, however, I have to question some of the decisions made by the police when dealing with an incident in a rural area. Not allowing farmers access to their properties to milk and check on newborn calves puts the welfare of nearly every animal within the cordon in jeopardy.

 

“Farmers have a strict obligation to the Animal Welfare Act and codes of practice. So, too, do police or in the very least, these officers of the law must be aware of the importance of animal welfare.

 

“I knew my animals were under stress due to the freezing cold conditions. That’s why I was on the phone to the police officer in charge of the manhunt from early Monday morning in order to gain access to my property.

 

“Yet no matter how persistent I was, the police would not let me through and this remained the case for some time. That is until late on Monday night, when we were allowed to break the cordon and milk our cows.

 

“That meant my son and I were milking in the dark after 10pm, with a gunman on the loose nearby. I must admit neither I nor my son felt safe under the circumstances, particularly as the milking shed lights meant we were visible from several kilometres away. Surely it would have been more appropriate for police to have let us milk in daylight hours?

 

“In fact, earlier yesterday, I received permission from the officer in charge to enter my property. Yet this order was not relayed to the officers guarding the cordon and as a result, we did not get through until much later that evening.

 

“But while we were allowed in for milking, Fonterra tankers were unable to enter the cordon. The police may or may not be aware of this, but unless you have storage capacity, most farmers cannot hold milk for more than 24 hours at peak season.

 

“Clearly the management of this manhunt could have been handled better from a farming perspective. Up until the suspects capture, at a golf course on Kopua Road nonetheless, no one had any idea of how long the cordon would stay up.

 

“As a long term rural resident, I would suggest police change the way they manage road cordons in a rural area. This manhunt involved a huge geographical area, yet the police were only concerned with blocking off the roads. I’ll bet Bourke did not escape the area by road but disappeared out the back of an unguarded paddock.

 

“That’s why Federated Farmers is calling on everyone involved to take a step back and undertake an extensive debrief. We also suggest those with the appropriate rural skills and knowledge, such as the local Federated Farmers representative, partake in this debrief so all may learn from the incident and do a better job next time,” Mr Hunt concluded.