Auckland security guards assaulted teen at Commercial Bay, Viaduct

The security guards were working at Commercial Bay when the spotted a youth tagging on a wall. Photo / Google

Two security guards who came across a teen tagging a wall chose violence over de-escalation by punching him in the head before throwing a woman to the ground when she intervened.

The pair have now been found unsuitable to work in security and had their certificates cancelled following a Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority hearing.

On the evening of February 22, 2024, Fred Talagi and James Tanevesi were working a security shift at Commercial Bay shopping centre on the Auckland viaduct.

According to police reports, Talagi and Tanevesi witnessed a group of young people congregating in Commercial Bay, one of whom was tagging a wall and a scooter.

Upon approaching the group, the pair resorted to physical force. CCTV footage captured them throwing a 15-year-old against a wall and while Talagi held him to the ground, Tanevesi threw punches to his head.

A young woman approached the guards in an attempt to intervene but Tanevesi tackled her to the ground, restrained her by holding her by the neck and placed his knee on her back.

When questioned by police, they claimed all they did was approach the teen for a discussion and cornered him as he was trying to walk away. Tanevesi also claimed there was pushing and shoving and the tagger pulled out a knife.

However, after viewing the footage, Trish McConnell for the Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority, found otherwise.

“There was no time for the discussion Mr Tanevesi (and Mr Talgi) claimed they had with the tagger in his statement to police. In addition, the CCTV does not support the claim to police that there was pushing and shoving.

“It was only after he had been assaulted and he was being held and dragged along the floor that the tagger pulled a knife,” McConnell said in a decision released this week.

McConnell also said the pair resorted to violence and inflamed the situation instead of de-escalating.

“This is contrary to what Mr Tanevesi (and Mr Talagi) is required to do while working in security. (They) then lied to the police about what happened.”

McConnel found the guard’s actions in the assault and lying to police to be “disgraceful, wilful or reckless” and cancelled their certificate of approval immediately.

Neither of the men attended the hearing and did not respond to messages left by NZME.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.