WELLINGTON — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday she will offer a formal apology to New Zealand’s Pacific community over “demeaning” police raids that targeted them in the 1970s.
Ardern said the notorious “dawn raids” were carried out by police and immigration officials seeking to identify and deport visa overstayers.
In addition, she said Pacific islanders were racially profiled, with officials subjecting them to random stop and search without justification.
“They were routinely severe with demeaning verbal and physical treatment,” Ardern told reporters.
“The raids and what they represented created deep wounds, while we cannot change our history, …
Keep on reading: New Zealand to apologize for ‘racist’ historic police raids