The head of Wellington police is refuting allegations a member of The Queer Avengers was yelled at and had his shirt ripped off by an officer, and another marcher's foot was run over by a patrol car. Around 100 people marched from the Ministry of Education building to Midland Park on Thursday, asserting education is a human right and issuing a list of demands for change to the Ministry. One of the organisers of Queer our Schools, Jason Frick, alleges that while he was walking a police officer, who was driving a moving car, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yelled at him. "While doing this they ran over another person's foot," he claims. "My shirt was destroyed when I pulled myself free from them and the moving car. "I didn't know that they had run over someone's foot at the time, so I went back trying to keep the younger people safe who were walking on the inside of our demonstration," he explains. Frick says police tried to use their cars to force the marchers off the agreed demonstration route. "They would drive up past us, and not exactly slowly or safely, and then cut in front of us or into us," he says. "There were little kids at the demo, small little things the police wouldn't be able to see from their position in the car. They created a very dangerous, unsafe situation. We're lucky the only injuries were one foot and one shirt." Acting Wellington Area Commander Detective Inspector Stephen Vaughan says police were in attendance at the march to ensure demonstrators were able to protest safely, without endangering themselves or others. "However, we strongly refute any allegations that a person had their foot run over by a police vehicle or that a person allegedly had their shirt ripped off and was yelled at by a police officer during the march," he says in a statement. "I can confirm we have not received any complaints from any person who was present at the march in relation to these allegations, therefore I encourage the complainants [GayNZ.com has] spoken to, to contact me personally at the Wellington Central Police Station if they feel a criminal offence was committed against them." Frick is adamant the marchers do not want the dispute over the police response to sidetrack from the success of the march. "The situation queer youth face in school is the real story," he says, saying the group achieved its aims; by breaking the silence surrounding the situation queer youths face in schools and gaining a meeting with the Ministry of Education, to discuss what The Queer Avengers see as its failure ion its legal duty-of-care to provide safe spaces for all students. "Our first goal was achieved with roughly about 100 people marching through town, many school-aged youth. Our second goal was achieved a few days before the demonstration when the ministry contacted us wishing to discuss the situation for 'same and both-sex attracted students'," Frick says. "Sadly, they did not see the need to identify the fact that we are also demanding that schools be made accessible for trans and gender variant students." Frick says what is important is that The Queer Avengers have begun to end the silence regarding queer youth suicides and the Ministry's 'complacency'. "Our demonstration got the message out in the public. Now it's time to grow the message," he finishes. Auckland-based Rainbow Youth is working on a national network of groups which aid queer youth and says Queer our Schools has pointed out some key issues organisations such as itself, Schools Out, Same Difference, WAQUY, Q-Youth, and Qtopia face. "We find young people wanting to build safe ways to improve school environments and we have no resource or mandate to support these initiatives," says Rainbow Youth Executive Director Tom Hamilton. "I hope that the key outcome from this protest is that queer and trans youth voices and needs are recognised. And that the work that queer and trans youth organisations are doing to sustain diversity groups to combat bullying and discrimination towards our queer and trans youth is also recognised as a real opportunity to make diversity in Aotearoa inclusive of queer and trans youth."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 10th October 2011 - 5:38pm