Kerre Woodham: Don't give up the day job

Rigel Walshe is in a band. The Dawn of Azazel is an extreme metal band, complete with the requisite satanic lyrics and violent riffs.

Probably not the sort of music you'll have on the CD player this lovely Sunday morning but each to their own.

And if Rigel Walshe wants to strut on stage in front of screaming metal fans, that's his business.

Except that Walshe is a metaller by night and a police officer by day. And that means when a Sunday newspaper outed him last week, his extra-curricular activities were put under the spotlight.

Now there's no question of Walshe's ability to do his job.

He's a court escort in the Counties Manukau district and, according to one of the team who works with him, he's great.

It's a diverse group of cops that works together and they have a diverse group of clients and Rigel gets along pretty well with all of them. But much has been made of his statement, lifted from the band's website, that there should be an eradication of the weak.

Taken at face value, the comment has all sorts of National Socialist overtones and nasty images of skinheads knocking people off their crutches comes to mind.

But the quote was more to do with his frustration with people who waste their potential, and the weak and mediocre people Rigel so despises are those who follow the flock in sheep-like fashion.

You'd probably find plenty of people who'd agree with his sentiments. Besides, many of the statements being quoted came from Rigel as a young, teenage metaller, long before he joined the police.

Give the man a break.

Surely the police are entitled to let off steam in their own particular way and although this is a somewhat more public private life than his fellow officers have, Rigel's entitled to do what he likes in his own time.

It's unreasonable to expect them to be police officers for 24 hours a day. And there have always been colourful officers.

Remember the hue and cry over Bob Moodie, when he was the Police Association representative.

Heartland New Zealand found it difficult to accept blokes in dresses, yet they managed to deal with a cop in a kaftan.

No wonder the police service is finding it hard to attract recruits when the National Party's police spokesman is banging on about them being always on duty and having to be role models.

The police are drawn from our own, imperfect ranks.

Tattooed fans of thrash metal are alive and well and living among us, so it's not surprising that eventually one will pop up in police ranks.

Rigel Walshe may eventually have to choose between the police and worldwide fame and domination of the music markets. Apparently his band is very popular among aficionados of thrash.

But in the meantime, if there is no question of his ability to do his job and do it well, why don't we let him get on with it?