5 Sep 2011

Police drop charge against Tiki Taane

7:08 pm on 5 September 2011

Police have dropped a charge against the musician Tiki Taane who was arrested following an incident in a night club in Tauranga.

Mr Taane had pleaded not guilty to a charge of disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence, after he sang an anti-police rap song during a performance.

A mediation meeting has been held with Mr Taane and police say the charge has been dropped.

Inspector Karl Wright-St Clair says the police had thought the lyrics of the song could inflame the situation after security removed a patron from the night club, but is now clear this was not the intention. He says Mr Taane's arrest resulted from a misunderstanding.

Mr Taane says he was never in the wrong, but was thrown into a police cell and stripped of his human rights.

He has not said whether the police have apologised, or whether he will be seeking compensation for legal costs.

Council for Civil Liberties spokesperson Batch Hales says officers should never have arrested Mr Taane, and that in doing so the police themselves probably inflamed the situation.

The council is worried officers are overreacting in many situations, leading people to be more violent toward them.