Tim Dower: Only six cases of excessive force isn't so bad

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Dec 14, 2023 · 2m

Remember those protests at Parliament last year, and the incredible scenes at the end?

Once it was over and the fires were out, and the rocks and broken glass were cleared from the street, police received just over 1900 complaints.

1900. The largest number of complaints ever about a single policing operation.

Sounds terrible, doesn't it? 1900 complaints... until you dig just a little deeper.

Most of the people who did complain were nowhere near the protest at the time.

They either saw it from the comfort of their couches as the whole thing unfolded live on TV or watched it on the news that…