Police bosses say Waikato police district commander Superintendent Bruce Bird was deserving of the Lions Tour operation and a promotion as an acting assistant commissioner. Photo/File
Police bosses say Waikato police district commander Superintendent Bruce Bird was deserving of the Lions Tour operation and a promotion as an acting assistant commissioner. Photo/File
The top North Island police officer who tried to stop the arrest of his daughter is being posted to Wellington for a temporary promotion.
Waikato police district Superintendent Bruce Bird has been given a temporary Assistant Commissioner's role in Wellington possibly for up to a year.
Although it's not his first posting to police headquarters in Wellington, it comes on the back of the job of overseeing the police operation for the British and Irish Lions tour - a role police insiders described as highly sought-after.
The promotion has raised eyebrows among some Waikato police staff after he escaped sanction when he tried to interfere with the arrest of his daughter earlier this year.
The incident was kept so quiet many officers were unaware what had happened until reading about it in Thursday's Herald.
The Herald yesterday revealed Bird tried to stop the arrest of his daughter. She was arrested after a domestic incident in January and taken to Hamilton Central Police Station, sources told the Herald.
He phoned the duty senior staff member and put pressure on him to stop the arrest from happening. Despite his actions, his daughter was still processed and the case handled out of district.
A police spokesman said Bird was the subject of an employment investigation and accepted that he made an "error of judgment in relation to the telephone conversation".
The senior officer on duty quit soon after the incident and filed a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). Its draft findings are currently being finalised.
The incident involving the officer was kept under wraps so police sources say there was a mix of shock and anger about his transgression.
Waikato police district Superintendent Bruce Bird, left, was awarded the Queens Service Medal by Sir Anand Satyanand, Governor General of New Zealand, for services to NZ Police in 2010. Photo/File
Police have confirmed Bird is in line to take up a post as an assistant commissioner next month.
"Mr Bird has acted as an Assistant Commissioner previously and will be given an opportunity again to act. Superintendent Kehoe will act as District Commander Waikato from 21 August 2017," a police spokesman said.
Bird was given the Lions tour as he was a high performing commander.
"Superintendent Bird is a high performing district commander and was used to provide operational support during the Lions tour. We are pleased that he carried out an outstanding job."
Bird declined to comment when approached by the Herald, and an interview request filed through police headquarters was also declined.
Meanwhile, some current and former staff spoken to by the Herald have criticised Bird's leadership style.
A former senior officer claimed morale in Waikato since Bird arrived had been low and several experienced staff had left.
However, one current officer said Bird had an "interesting" personality and was a tough taskmaster but he produced the results.
Bird had taken the Waikato "to a whole new [policing] level", he said, and had been ticking off key performance objectives.
"While he has an interesting personality and leadership style and has been through this investigation, and we're under strength by quite a few numbers, he still managed to enable achievement of things within the Waikato policing area."
The officer said that while there was some dismay by staff that Bird hadn't been held to account as seriously as other staff would have been, he was still "one of our family".
He said he believed that Bird's behaviour could be interpreted as bullying, but he was a straight shooter and strategic thinker who always had the organisation at heart.
The Herald put the bullying claim to police headquarters.
Asked to respond to claims about Bird's leadership style, a spokesman for Police National Headquarters referred the Herald to the police code of conduct.
"All staff are expected to act in accordance with the core values of police. Police have a Code of Conduct and relevant policies, including a conflict of interest policy. We take any complaint about a member of staff seriously, and any steps taken is always dependent on the specific nature of each matter."
