Waikato Superintendent Bruce Bird found to have ‘bullied’ senior officer in meetings

A police superintendent has been found by the Independent Police Conduct Authority to have bullied a senior officer by yelling at them in two senior management meetings, leaving the staffer feeling “belittled and disrespected”.

A complaint was made after Waikato district commander Bruce Bird allegedly berated the officer during a meeting in February 2022 and in another one in March 2023.

The allegations have since been the subject of an internal employment process and a separate investigation by the IPCA.

Now the findings of that investigation, released to the parties on Thursday, reveal the allegations have been upheld, with the IPCA ruling Bird’s behaviour was “unreasonable” and “bullying” and indicates his style of management “is no longer acceptable for NZ Police”.

It comes after NZME recently revealed that bullying allegations were made about another superintendent, Canterbury’s district commander John Price, before he retired last March.

It’s also not the first time Bird has been the subject of an employment and IPCA investigation.

In 2017, NZME reported he interfered with the arrest of his daughter after she was taken to Hamilton Central Police Station for processing after a domestic incident.

Soon afterwards Bird - who has been Waikato’s top cop since 2014 - found out about the arrest and phoned the senior officer on duty, allegedly putting pressure on him to stop the arrest from happening.

Despite his interference, the woman was processed and arrested. NZME understands the prosecution was handled outside the Waikato district and she was given diversion.

The senior officer who was on duty when Bird’s daughter was brought in quit abruptly shortly afterwards, but police denied it was linked to the incident.

Bird later messaged his staff saying he was speaking as a father but acknowledged he “did not handle the call well” and in hindsight “placed the (senior officer) in an invidious position”.

Police won’t comment on whether Bird has faced any disciplinary action in relation to the most recent complaint, saying the employment process is confidential - but the organisation’s website still names him as Waikato’s district commander.

Bird did not reply to an email with questions about the latest findings.

‘Unreasonable, unprofessional, bullying’

Surmising the complaint and the reasoning for the latest findings, the IPCA stated Bird acted “unreasonably and unprofessionally” when he yelled at the senior officer and would not allow them to speak at the meeting, leaving the officer feeling “belittled and disrespected”.

“We note that others in the meeting also believed his behaviour to be unreasonable.

“We note that Superintendent Bird was under significant work pressure at the time ... [officer] was right to stand up to Bird’s unacceptable behaviour.

“However, [officer] was left feeling isolated and unsupported by the organisation, questioning whether their career would be damaged by reporting the behaviour.”

The IPCA considered the second incident reached the threshold of “bullying” given it was “repeated behaviour”.

“Superintendent Bird’s behaviour towards [officer] indicates a style of management that is no longer acceptable for NZ Police.”

Waikato police district commander, Superintendent Bruce Bird pictured in 2017. Photo / Dean Purcell

However, the IPCA also noted some other senior members at the meeting “did not believe Bird’s behaviour to be inappropriate, or accepted it”.

“This highlights a need for further work to be done by police to ensure leaders are effectively coaching and managing staff.”

The IPCA said it was “heartened” that Bird had “sought assistance regarding understanding organisational behaviours”.

It encouraged police to actively support staff who speak up in order to bring about positive change to police leadership and management.

‘They’re just waiting for him to go’

Police sources spoken to by NZME say that although they support the police and its role, they can’t understand how managers with complaints against them are allowed to continue to hold senior positions.

One source said they believed “there have been a number of people impacted by [Bird’s] behaviour” and officers who had had enough of his behaviour were “just waiting for him to go”.

They claimed there were some officers who had had run-ins with him that had left the force completely or moved to a different police district.

A second source questioned why it seemed like police were protecting Bird, who appears to have remained in his role despite two complaints against him.

“We’ve lost so many good ones. Why is the organisation protecting this guy all the time? It blows me away.”

‘If you’re in the inner circle, you are fine’

In Canterbury, Price was the region’s district commander until March 2023, when he retired after 36-years of service.

A statement about his resignation said he was moving to “an executive leadership role” with the National Emergency Management Agency.

In June NZME revealed multiple people had formally reported concerns about Price in 2022, including allegations of bullying and discrimination against staff. Staff reported they believed Price was a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who had “an A Team and a B Team” and oversaw what they described as a “culture of fear”, which included “intimidation, exclusion, passive-aggressive and insidious behaviour”.

Sources claimed Bird also has an “inner circle” in the Waikato.

“If you’re in the inner circle, you are fine. But the majority are on the outer and, yeah, it can make life challenging.

“It’s more around presence, table-thumping and put-downs in front of others,” the source believed.

“It’s just by how he conducts himself as a senior officer”.

The source said they believed Bird “uses his rank and his presence to intimidate and his words, he’s very nasty in his language”.

They claimed Bird was known to swear at other staff in front of the whole senior leadership team.

One source claimed bullying in the police was “endemic” and believed Bird should no longer remain in his role.

‘Police take complaints seriously’

Assistant Commissioner Sandra Venables told NZME police took complaints about staff conduct seriously and the organisation was “committed to ensuring our people feel safe at work”.

“In this instance, police dealt with and resolved the matter through an employment process, which remains confidential.

“The Independent Police Conduct Authority conducted a separate investigation, and we acknowledge the findings released to those involved earlier this week.

“Police, quite rightly, expects high standards of our people, in accordance with our values of professionalism, integrity and respect.”

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and has been a journalist for 20.