Just a day after the Police Commissioner Andrew Coster announced Armed Response Teams will be axed, he is now floating the idea of arming the police with sponge bullets instead.
This morning Mr Coster told RNZ the sponge rounds were a less lethal option that would allow incapacitation of someone from a safe distance, and avoid the need to use a firearm.
Emilie Raakete is the founder of lobby group People Against Prisons Aotearoa, and is studying the political economy of prisons at The University of Auckland.
She told Te Aniwa Hurihanganui that sponge bullets are extremely dangerous, and will be used against Māori more than any other group if they are rolled out.
