Marc My Words.
From Marc Alexander MP 29th Nov. 2002
United Future NZ-Christchurch Supplement
Two years . it's been two long years for Senior Constable Keith Abbott to put the Waitara shooting behind him.
Initially the police held an inquiry but found no grounds for prosecution. The Wallace family on the other hand has
brought what has been called a ground breaking private prosecution against him "(Press", November 29, 2002).
The bottom line is that a policeman who does his job and is found to have acted within the law can now be faced with a
potential criminal liability.
Surely it must be obvious to anyone other than those with a Qantas kangaroo romping in the top paddock, that the police
must have confidence, that apart from internal police scrutiny, they will be immune from harassment from those
disgruntled members of the public who may have a personal bias against certain police actions.
Given the same set of circumstances with an out-of-control individual waving a softball bat and threatening to kill me,
I would have taken the exact same action. As Constable Abbott himself confessed, "I was in fear of my life".
What we need to do, given the lack of any evidence of wrongdoing, is to thank Constable Abbott for doing his job and
send him with his family on a holiday to help them gain closure over what happened more than two years ago.
This situation should never have been allowed to drag on for so long. Such frivolous and baseless proceedings as this
should be tossed out of the courts.
Constable Keith Abbott ... thanks for a job well done!
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ENDS