Man to stand trial for murdering tagger
A man charged with stabbing to death a 15-year-old tagger has been committed to stand trial for murder in the High Court in Auckland later this year. Bruce Emery, 50, entered a not guilty plea at the end of a depositions hearing in Manukau District Court today. Pihema Clifford Cameron, 15, died after being stabbed in Manurewa on January 26.
This is a fascinating case, the NZ public have allowed themselves to be so wound up by the news media evil youth issue of the week (it’s either boyracers, youth gangs or taggers) so much so that any story where a taggers gets some rough justice becomes headline news – HEADLINE NEWS for Christ’s sakes – but then we have Emery. I don’t think I’ve ever heard so much sympathy from talkback for someone accused of murder, and look at the facts, there are no mitigating circumstances at all, Emery left his property with a knife, chased these two kids, continued to advance on them, they sprayed some paint at him, he then stabs one of them, immediately runs away and the kid dies. They weren’t on his property when he confronted them, they weren’t advancing towards him, they were trying to escape, self defense is a defense when you are being attacked or someone else is being attacked, or when property is being attacked – in this case they had fled the scene, and thus self defence can not be established. Don’t get me wrong, this case is a heartbreaker, Emery obviously is a very nice hard working man who saw a tagger and got just as angry and wound up about it as the media has done to a large chunk of NZ, but there is no way we can condone this type of action, he killed the kid for crying out load, and as much as some may wish to big mouth ‘good riddance’ – we can not tolerate this response to something as petty as tagging.
The 16 year old witness first told police in his statement that they advanced on the man to try to "scare" him away with clenched fists and the spray can raised as if ready to rain blow upon the old mans head. I think the convient change of story (now they didn't advance etc play the victim role), the original statement, an old man incapacitated by spray paint in his eyes about to be set upon by feral street thugs etc will result in a not guilty verdict.
ReplyDeleteYep.
ReplyDeleteLooks like self defence, or at the most manslaughter.
Public sympathy is with Emery, not the tagger.
Agree Emery was clearly WAAAY out of line chasing the kids with a knife. I know a guy currently in his 17th year in jail on a life sentence for doing almost exactly the same thing. His victim died, too. He had been threatened, too, after confronting the group stealing petrol from his brother's car in the drive out front. He was being actively beaten when he stabbed the guy he killed. He was Maori and so were his assailants.
ReplyDeleteIf justice is consistent, Emery will get life. No way should he have chased them up the street with a knife. End of story. What was he going to do? Sharpen pencils?
Having said that, I can understand the man's frustration that his property is being defaced repeatedly by people apparently free of any consequences for doing so. That would make one VERY angry. He clearly had not thought the whole thing through....as the law would expect him to. So is it open season on taggers if he gets off? Or will the judge direct the jury to show that people can't run around stabbing each other to death when they get pissed off?
I suspect the latter.....but we'll see what the jury makes of it all. They are there. We aren't. If there is one thing I learned from attending court, if you're not in the room, then most often you're wasting your time second-guessing the jury. They hear all the evidence. We only hear what the media care to share with us. The two are often quite different.
Sensible sentencing here please. Lock the bastard away for a long time.
ReplyDeleteThe first sign of a failing society is when citizens believe their only reasonable to course it to take the law into their own hands. Here we see the symptoms of a collapsing society, just as the Romans did so many centuries ago.
ReplyDeleteThe 'tagger' was showing total disrespect for someone's personal propert, and usurping it for their own use - an act they had no right to undertake. The owner is so frustrated with the inability of the 'proper authorities' to deal with the situation he decides to do it himself and, hopefully, frighten these children so they don't damage his property again. The children, who have been raised in an environment where there are no consequences for their action, and where it is illegal for their parents to physically chastise then, never mind a stranger, do what their generation thinks is right and not only threaten the citizen but physically assault him by spraying paint into his eyes, probably temprartily blinding him. The citizen, undsighted (not allowed to say blind) and fearful of another attack, starts to slash out with the knife that he is holding and hits one of the children - the child dies.
Right then. Lets get the other child into counselling to make sure the trauma of seeing the dire (at the extreme end of the continuum)consequences of his actions do not put hi off doing them again, and lets prosecute the citizen for murder (when it clarly was not a premeditated act) so no one else thinks they can try to defend their property.
I feel very sorry for the parents and family of the dead boy, they must be wondering why a madman killed him. I feel nothing but compassion for the citizen who, by attempting to protect his property when the authorities wouldn't (if it takes half an hour to get to an armed robbery and murder, how long will it take to get to a tagging, if at all?).
I feel abhorant sadness for the state imposed liberal society we live in today that sees taggng, home invasion, intimidation, theft and "I dare you to stop us" responses to people trying to stop these things happening.
"He was being actively beaten when he stabbed the guy he killed."
ReplyDeleteWell thats self defence then isn't it truthseeker, and your "friend" should get a retrial and a new lawyer.
Re; the jury.
Lets be quite clear; these people will be more likely to be homeowner, law abiding citizens, and I suspect none will be taggers.
You can see where their sympathy lies.
Personally, I believe you should have the right to citizen arrest a tagger, and if they struggle, you should have the right, without prosecution, to use as much justifiable force to restrain the tagger.
Note I said justifiable, not kill them.
One less future criminal in NZ jails. I mean, the defunct tagger.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance.
Bruce Emery is a Hero. Just a pity he didn't kill the taggers mate.
ReplyDeleteExactly anon 9:32. Its also a shame that Navtej Singh was unable to defend himself adequately either :(
ReplyDeleteSo when hes' off all day smoking dope, drinking then going off at night to do tagging, where were his parents?
ReplyDeleteNot to excuse what Emery did, but for Pihemas parents and relatives to act like he's some poor little innocent is wrong, they bear a portion of responsibility for his death as well.
If a 15 year old spray paints someone else's property then they should be killed and their killer should get off.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm hearing from some commenters, and that's the sort of comments that give red neck conservative reactionaries a bad name.
I was at my desk a few years ago, in the front room of my flat - on Williamson Ave in Grey Lynn - and the curtains were drawn and I was tapping out a blog or working on something. It was summer.
I heard this tick-a-ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka sound coming from somewhere. It was a quiet sound. A bit odd, so I keep on typing. Again: tick-a-ticka-ticka-ticka-tick. From outside. That's a strange noise... !!! Ah! It's the sound of a spray can being shaken.
FUCKIN' TAGGERS!!!
I quickly got to the front door, opened it quietly and snuck the few steps to the gate and slowly grasped the gate.
Now at this stage I had no idea who was tagging, or how many, or anything. I had a pair of shorts on and nothing else. I've got nothing in my pockets and I'm not holding anything. My intention is to catch the tagger and empty every last drop of his spray can onto him, his clothes and any possessions he may have with him. The trick is to get their fast enough to surprise him and catch him.
So, I suddenly open the gate - it opens inwards unfortunately, which isn't so quick - and as fast as I can spring out as soon as my bare feet hit the ground I was at full charge against this guy. He's got a can in his hand and he's half way through a word at the far end of the fence and his head swings around and sees this hairy, angry, shirtless man sprinting towards him and he takes off immediately.
He's got 6 or so metres on me. I chase him up the footpath to near the corner of the street and we race out onto the road - and there's a car coming. He manages to just beat the car and gets to the other side of the road, the car slows and I lose a valuable few seconds waiting for the car to pass. The roadway is chipped and my feet aren't liking that - I'm begining to feel pain now.
The guy's run off up a side street and he stops briefly at the top of another street before disappearing. He's got twenty metres or more and he's got shoes on and I'm overweight... and fuck it! If I was fitter I'd have run the cunt down. I would have. The other thing is I (and him) never said a word. He and I both knew he'd be in for some street justice if I'd caught him. There was no need for any taunting or name calling or verbalisation in that situation.
Post script to that story: the bastard came back later that night and finished off his tag. Un-fucking-believable.
Anyway, the point I illustrate through my own tagger encounter is that arming myself with a knife - or anything - was the last thing on my mind. The tagger's the one whose going to have to be armed - and he's going to have to fucking use it too alright if I had got hold of him. I didn't really know what to expect when I opened the gate accept it would be a kid or two spaying some illegible ego bullshit all over the fence. It wasn't going to be anyone over 20, probably about 14-18 would be my assumption. A bit of anarchy on the school holidays. And the chances of them being armed with a knife or something would be very remote in my reckoning.
Then again I wasn't in 'Rewa. Rewa Hard. 267 represent - or whatever. Kids are kids aren't they? Grey Lynn, Petone, Ekatahuna, Manurewa. The old argument that South Auckland is dysfunctional therefore moral rules don't apply here type exceptionalism is just "That's how we roll, Southside" bullshit isn't it?
Why would a man, a grown man, take a knife out to confront and chase taggers? What was he planning, or contemplating doing when he made the decision to pick up that knife? That's something Chris Comesky, the defence lawyer, is going to have to spin - along with what was he thinking when he plunged the knife into the 15 year old's chest.
Mate, what were you thinking?
Hi why was my comment removed.
ReplyDeleteI was polite on subject.
it showed up and now it's gone.
These are not ten year old kids, these taggers are young men, in mens bodies.
ReplyDeleteBig mens bodies.
Perhaps Emery had a run in with taggers before, and knew to go armed.
Perhaps he grabbed it not thinking.
Who knows.
But, tis better to be judged by 12 of your peers, than be carried by 6of them.
Sympathy is with Emery, not the tagger.
Taggers..
ReplyDeleteI bought some spray paint. I got extremely drunk on red wine one night and went out spray painting. It was a blur of spray cans and pavement. I hope I didn't spray anyone's car... just lucky Emery didn't emerge.
Actually I've noticed lots of comments have been showing up and then disappearing ... is there a fault with the site or something more sinister? Surely not censorship?
ReplyDeleteNS
Sympathy is with Emery, not the tagger.
ReplyDeleteGo visit the mug in jail. Take him some biscuits.
"Go visit the mug in jail. Take him some biscuits."
ReplyDeleteHe's not in jail, he's on bail, he can go buy his own biscuits.
Mind you he could always go visit the taggers grave and piss on it.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteLet's get this straight bomber, you think we should tolerate 'old school' gangs who are armed to 'defend' their hood with violence but you won't tolerate a law abiding citizen who overreacts in a crime ridden neighorhood?
If he was a law abiding citizen, he would of called the pigs, not chase them out his own yard and stab them.. LOL
I think you should take a walk southside to get the living shit beaten out of you as a reality check.
I think that's a wet dream dream anon. the twisted visions of South Auckland created by the Media, I know the place isn't Kohi but when you dish out shit to a community you don't get back Roses. I have a sister that lived in South Auckland for close to 25 years and never had the shit kick out of her, as you put it.
Maybe Emery had two sets of frustrations that night, 1) The Obvious taggers 2) Knowing for a fact if he rang the pigs they would of probably take either 3 hours to get there or send a taxi to investigate....
I can understand why he did it, grabbing a knife for PROTECTION and STAYING in your own yard is, indeed one thing.. leaving your yard with a knife to confront someone, anyone, is not only Dumbass but dam hard to say SELF-DEFENCE
But one things certain, he better hope he gets off, I can imagine, a white male of 50, in prison surrounded by Polynesian's, for killing an Islander, yeah I am sure, some of them boys won't deal out some Boob Justice..
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Truth Seeker: awesome read, nice post, I agree with a hell of a lot you said..
TIM: I like how you put everything in your post, wish I could write like that (LOL) But quite true..
"WHAT WAS HE THINKING INDEED"