Police accused of racial profiling over machete stop
A gardener is handcuffed after he was spotted carrying a machete in Opoho on Wednesday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
A gardener handcuffed for carrying a machete in a leafy Dunedin suburb was a victim of racial profiling, the woman who hired him believes.
On Wednesday, a Colombian refugee went to a woman's home in Windsor St, Opoho, to do some yard work, the woman told the Otago Daily Times.
He was carrying a machete half covered in his bag as it did not fit, which prompted a member of the public to report the man to police.
"He doesn't speak English. He's been here seven months so there are many things he doesn't know about the local culture," the woman, who is also Colombian, said.
Machetes were one of the most common gardening tools in Latin America, the woman said.
The man was scared, did not know what was going on and was unable to explain why he had the machete to police.
Police choosing to come and ask her to translate for the man made all the difference.
"It was solved just because we could talk — I could talk to him and I could talk to police. If there was nobody to translate, he would have been taken to jail."
The man now had a larger bag that completely covered the machete from view.
The woman said she did not believe police would have been called if it had been a well-dressed "white" person carrying a machete in a bag.
"He's obviously not wealthy, he was trying to make a buck, he's dark-skinned and he's got curls, and he was dressed as a working person — there's a bias."
Acting Sergeant Matt Nichols said police yesterday received a report from a member of the public about a man in Opoho Rd "carrying a machete".
Police located the man — who spoke limited English — in Windsor St, found the machete along with other tools and handcuffed him.
When speaking to the man, it was found he was a gardener and the machete was part of his gardening tools.
He was carrying it in the open as it did not fit in his toolbox, Acting Sgt Nichols said.
Once everything was cleared up, he was released and given prevention advice.
"[It] looks bad, but you've got to take it to context that when we see a guy with a machete, we're always going to put him in handcuffs before we talk to him about what's going on," Acting Sgt Nichols said.
laine.priestley@odt.co.nz
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