Josh Chellatamby: Kia Kaha boxing club member on the detainment of a 12-year-old boy under new gang patch law

Police are under the microscope after potentially misusing a new gang patch ban law when a 12-year-old boy was questioned on Christmas Day for wearing a boxing gym t-shirt, featuring elements of the Black Power logo.

Officers confiscated the shirt which had the the Kia Kaha Boxing Club logo with a fist on it and detained the boy. 

Kia Kaha boxing club member and the Secretary of Counties Manukau Boxing Association Josh Chellatamby talks to Tim Beveridge. 

LISTEN ABOVE. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk z'b. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Now the concerns that police have misused the gang patch
band law after a twelve year old boy was stopped
for wearing a boxing gym T shirt which featured elements
of the black Power logo. Officers confiscated the shirt, which
had the Kia Kaha Boxing Club logo with a fist
on it, and detained the boy. However, police say no
charges were made or laid. Should I say? Josh Chella

(00:37):
Tumby is a member of the Kia Kaha Boxing Club
and the Secretary of Counties Monaco Monaco Boxing Association, and
he joins me, now, Josh, good morning, Good morning to
So what's your problem with what happened?

Speaker 3 (00:52):
I think my main problem is that it was a
filed on Christmas Day. I think there would have been
popular the avenues that the police officers that at the
time could have probably approached a situation. There was actually
an incident across the road at the time, a medical incident,
and they left that incident and.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
Came over.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
To deal with MK. So I think that's probably my
main problem.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
They were. I think police and individuals.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
At the end of the day, there's We've actually got
a good relationship with the local police as well. So
it's more so of one police officer in question, because
a couple of the officers, they're actually quite nice to MK,
and even they themselves. The neighbor that was at the
medical incident at the plan they actually overheard and those
officers even said let's leave them. It's not it's not

(01:42):
important right now, but the officer. There was one particular
officer that actually made the decision to go over and
he was also quite rude to MK, talking about his
family and how it was more of an it felt
like it was intimdation. I think that was our main problem.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
They know who I am.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
They can contact me if they had a problem with
the T shirt. We've been wearing the T shirt for
thirty years now, like that, that particular logo, so it's
not something new.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah, the thing is I think that was it.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
The thing is with the insignia itself, which I mean,
you'd be hard convinced that most people would look at
it and go well that you know, if they saw
the insignia of the Black Power they'd be like, well,
that's the same thing. I mean, during the course of
the legislation that was rolling out on gang patches, wasn't
someone at the club thinking, gee, maybe we need to
change something here, because in the end, in my view,

(02:38):
whether it's the police or the club, it's adults that
have let this kid down because he shouldn't have been
wearing it.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Oh, I completely respect your view, and we actually did
have who.

Speaker 4 (02:47):
We on that.

Speaker 3 (02:50):
So I actually spoke to the Justice Committee at the
time that it was up for submission. We mentioned that
there was, you know, variations of the black parts and well,
we're not going to die away from that, and our
association with black power. Kikar Boxing Club is not a
black pile boxing club.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Hang on, you're not shying away from your association. What
you're You're you're enforcing the association. Who's saying it's not
part of it? I misunderstood you.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
That it's it's an avenue.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
So I think there's a there's a perception of black power,
and I can understand that.

Speaker 4 (03:25):
In society that perception. I think also we're looking.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
At it from a twenty twenty four or twenty twenty
five point of view. There's documentaries from the eighties. I
think when we're talking about gangs, it's different in each
for each group or each organization.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Just quickly, are you going to change the insignia, because
where the text of the stations with a great idea
just stick the fist in a boxing glove and you're away.

Speaker 4 (03:55):
Yeah, we saw that. We've actually worked hard, worked.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Hard to you know, there's a lot of thought that's
gone into them Sydney at the time. So going back
to your question about what we did during that submission,
we actually wrote a letter to Mitchell at the time
as well, before the law came into place, and we
actually asked, hey, we use.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
This Fiston Ferns I legitimate spaces? Is that okay?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
And we actually that got referred to Paul Goldsmith and
we actually received back a letter.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
I've got to go in a second, but will you
change your thanks?

Speaker 1 (04:29):
It's well for more from News Talks at b listen
live on air or online, and keep our shows with
you wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.