Margot
Staunton, Senior Journalist
A
well-placed source in the Samoan police says officers want
their power to carry firearms widened.
The senior
police officer says the fatal
shooting of the former head of homicide last year
sparked concern within the force.
However, a formal
proposal has yet to be put together.
Detective
Sergeant Peniamina Perite was investigating an horrific
family shooting last July when the gunman turned and shot
him with a .22 rifle.
Neither he nor the other
officers who attended were armed, and the lead detective
died at the scene.
The senior officer told RNZ Pacific
that, with the growing number of illegal firearms found
during drug raids, it was time the law was
reviewed.
However, Samoa’s Police Minister Faualo
Harry Schuster said the current law is more than
adequate.
“Under our current law, when the
circumstances warrant it and there are reasonable grounds to
arm the police, then they seek the approval of the
Attorney-General and the Minister to allow them to be armed
for raids. The process is very quick,” he said.
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“This
is in circumstances where there is evidence that there is a
threat to their lives.”
He said Perite and the
officers did not request permission to carry firearms before
they went to investigate last year’s shooting.
“I
think, in their assessment, they did not believe that it was
necessary to be armed, and unfortunately, the accused turned
around and behaved differently,” he said.
Had the
officers applied to carry firearms the approval process
would have been “instantaneous” as long as they had
reasonable grounds on which to make the
application.
“The way I see it, it is still the
police’s call – if they find out a murder has been
committed, it is for them to assess whether or not they want
to go armed. If they do.”
Asked whether the police
were adequately protected in the current environment, he
said: “I know the status quo is okay, unless it is shown to
be defective and inadequate.”
He said that during the
German and New Zealand occupations of Samoa there were
instances where Samoan people were ostracised
overseas.
“Our country’s experience with firearms is
not a pleasant one and for that reason our forefathers, when
enshrining the constitution
decided we should not have
a military, only the police. And the police should not be
armed,” he said.
The Samoan culture is one of
dialogue, and people try to resolve their differences
through it, he said.
“Ninety-five percent of crime was
dealt with at the village level, particularly more minor
crime like petty theft.
“The village councils were
very good at dealing with issues that arose in the
village.
“If it all went through the police they would
be swamped,” he added.
RNZ Pacific has contacted
Police Commissioner Auapaau Logotino Filipo multiple times
for
comment.
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