More on off duty police ban

A further story highlights the rather bizarre rationale for the proposed ban on off duty police officers making arrests. The NZ Herald reports on a case where a guy nicked a cellphone from an off duty police officer. He then fled to avoid arrest and ran in front of a truck.

The Police say the off duty constable should have “reported the incident and let on-duty colleagues deal with the situation.”

This just gets more bizarre. So you can go up to an off duty police officer, steal his wallet or cellphone, and the officer isn’t allowed to try and stop you or arrest you, but should merely report the theft to police!