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Home / New Zealand

Police 'disappointed' over Polyfest brawls

NZ Herald
19 Mar, 2017 08:56 PM5 mins to read

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Police have expressed disappointment over at least two brawls associated with last week's Polyfest in South Auckland, but say no arrests were made.

Inspector Tracy Phillips of Counties Manukau Police said two arrests were made during the four-day festival at the Manukau Sports Bowl, but they were not related to the fights.

Shocking video of three fights has been posted on Facebook, including one showing girls fighting and being dragged by the hair.

Phillips said police were called to two incidents outside of the festival where there were reports of fighting.

"One was on Saturday at approximately 4pm outside Westfield Mall," she said.

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"Police attended, however the crowd quickly dispersed.

"The second incident was at the intersection of Te Irirangi Drive and Great South Rd, also on Saturday afternoon at approximately 5pm.

"Police were immediately deployed, however those involved had left prior to the units' arrival.

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"We are making following up inquiries to the incidents posted online, however we would ask anyone with information to contact Senior Sergeant Kylie Newton on 09 261 1300.

"Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

She said more than 90,000 people attended the festival and police were very impressed with the behaviour of those who attended.

"Only two arrests were made during the event and these were not related to the event itself," she said.

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"No arrests were made in relation to the behaviour at the festival.

"It is incredibly disappointing to see the videos being posted online which reflects the behaviour of just a small number of the 90,000 people who attended."

Footage of girls fighting and being dragged by the hair at Polyfest is among some of the most shocking footage to emerge from the cultural festival last week.

While most of the 42nd ASB Polyfest went off without a hitch, a number of videos have emerged of fights and brawls in and around the south Auckland venue, some spilling onto roads, close to oncoming traffic.

In one video which was posted online, two young women can be seen dragging two others across the ground by their hair. One then starts punching another girl before onlookers step in to break up the fight.

WATCH: All the action from the last day of Polyfest

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The violence between the young women apparently occurred behind a tent at the annual ASB Polyfest event. The post has been viewed more than 143,000 times.

Separate video shows a fight in a car park, where a large crowd quickly gathers to watch two young men face off. Several onlookers are wearing Polynesian cultural dress.

In a third video a young man takes a swing at another young man, who falls to the ground. After multiple calls from onlookers to "let him up", the two face off again, and the fight moves to the road. There the man in blue aims a kick at the other man's head.

Yesterday, footage emerged of a group of men brawling on Great South Rd near the Manukau Sports Bowl, with two of them pushed into the road and attacked by others.

The cultural celebration was being held at the venue at the time although it is unclear whether the men in the video were attendees.

Police have confirmed that multiple violent skirmishes occurred at or around the event.

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Polyfest event director Theresa Howard said organisers were working with the police to identify the men in the first video.

"We've been confident and have the peace of mind knowing that the police have been able to handle situations that have occurred before they've escalated into anything more than that," Howard said.

"In terms of the video, we're not even sure if the people were associated or had earlier participated or visited the festival."

Organisers were taking the matter seriously, Howard said.

"The behaviour is not acceptable at all with us, as festival organisers," she said.

The brawl broke out on Te Irirangi Drive near the intersection of Great South Rd and Cavendish Drive about 4pm on Saturday.

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The video shows men wearing red and blue clothing, generally recognised as the colours of the opposing Crips and Bloods gangs, in a flurry of pushing, shoving and punching.

The brawl spills out onto the busy road and two people are pushed to the tar seal, the others kicking, stomping and leaping on them as the attack continues.

Then, just as quickly as it seemed to start, it finishes and all the males take off.

The footage was uploaded to Facebook on Saturday and has been viewed 112,000 times and shared almost 2000 times.

Police confirmed that they had received multiple calls via 111 about the incident.

"We appear to have had numerous calls about this incident and other general disorder/fighting outside Polyfest late yesterday afternoon/early evening," a spokeswoman said.

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"Police attended to disperse the crowds.

"It doesn't look like any arrests were made following the particular incident in the video. I imagine they were long gone by the time we arrived."

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