POLICE AND SOLDIERS IN CONFLICT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2762, 4 May 1916, Page 6

POLICE AND SOLDIERS IN CONFLICT

' AN ATTEMPTED ARREST

"" POLICEMEN SEVERELY HANDLED

v. • ' .A . 'serious ■ disturbance, occurred' on - i Lambton Quay, list night shortly before . the last" troop train'left for" Trelrtham. Prom: wliat."'...could::be gathered last ; , . night a policeman on ■ the Lambton f:-: .Quay, beat-had occasion to arrest a sol-' |v; 'dier in.Woodward.Street. . The soldier jr.:-.,-.,-wenti.along/\vith ;the policeman for a If;.v : -Bhort' timo; .-birf .other soldiers then atJ • tehip.tecl .to''rescue their comrade from | V the. policeman, and a number of civil-" : vims' Blso 'assisted tho- soldiers: In a very short time a crowd of. some j . three or four hundred soldiers, and civilv :;. • jians.-liad gathered round the policeman iV.! : .charge, and there was much I'. -i. jostljiig,' which" gradually increased in ?";yibleiico...j. At first there was-.only one j :;; policeman, toideal with the trouble, but l. another. came along, and ..in' the t-'.."-. end there "'were ,o'Halp! :'';ldran and " Constables Harriss«. and j. , . Tocker. The latter w«v on duty.in the Lambton Station watchhoiise, and re- [' : ' -ceived .2. special call to the scene of i;,v ' trouble. < . | - ;.- TAaiveffort was made to ,get tho arsoldier, to the. Police Station j ')>ut-the constables -were unable to make i-: ; £ny: ; .'headway, t.hroudi the crowd, who it "; apparentlv sided- with the soldier, and r,.':.;»«- e 'nipt«l to rescue him. In the rough' I f -. ; V;. aniitumble'..which ' followed. the conj..-..' stables were rolled oh the: ground and /severely handled,, and eventually the [-.•r v/arrested soldier was dragged away K."; from them; after a- rather stormy ' 5. J-period. | ' V During the-struggle Serat. O'Halloran j';.;received a kick of his eyes,- and Donstablo Harrison .sustained . bruises x-' .'on his face-and hands, whilst Con- : stable Tocker was kicked \on the head ; ':- and.-body. U : . TJp> to" one 'o'clock. this morning no i'.i : arrests-;had .been made' by the police j '-'connection with the disturbance , An eye-witness is responsible for the p. . statement- that the crowd of .civilians ! -'was distinctly hostile to the police, and S-. ..obstructed them in/a most open manf iier. _ the behaviour of ,some of the "civilians being disgraceful. '