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Police have convinced two of Liam Ashley's friends to come down from a tree, after they staged a protest in the Auckland suburb of Beach Haven.
Officers say the grieving 19-year-olds got drunk and climbed a 30m tree just after 2am. They demanded to speak to the media and Liam's parents.
Negotiators spent several hours talking them down. The men have been released with a warning.
Liam died after being beaten in the back of a prison van last year. A man has been jailed for his murder.
North Shore police communications manager Kevin Loughlin said the tree-top protest was alcohol-related.
It was not clear what the pair wanted.
They were a danger to themselves and were a nuisance to others, he said, and added that rain had also made the situation dangerous, he said.
Police, fire and ambulance services all attended the scene at Rangatira Road and were on standby while a police negotiator talked to the pair, he said.
The pair were finally talked down after 5am and were arrested by police, he said.
- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA