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Source: ONE News -
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Dunedin is on Sunday putting itself back together after a second night of student riots at the Undie 500 rally.
Police had to use pepper spray to control students on Saturday night.
The number of arrests in is now put at between 50 and 60 and police say with many students challenging their line, they had to call in extra help as well as send for more pepper spray.
"We've got more staff tonight (Saturday night) in the processing unit so a lot more being locked up," says Inspector Alistair Dickie of Dunedin Police.
The courts will be dealing with about eight people accused of liquor ban breaches, disorderly behaviour and setting fire to property at the end of the week.
Police say the trouble started just after midnight and again involved up to 600 people. The chaos went on for a couple of hours.
Police say while they had to deal with students in the rally, there was a lot of obstruction from students living in the surrounding houses.
Most of the arrests were not from the students in the street but as police clear the yards in front of the flats to the side.
The police also copped some criticism.
"They smacked some girl to the ground. I got to help her up, got smashed in the face for no reason. I'm not even doing anything," says student Ollie Manson.
There were no apologies from the police however.
"If they want to get in the way and they get a bit roughed up - too bad. They're lucky that's all that happened to them basically," says Dickie.
Police acknowledge many students were pepper sprayed, so many it ran out.
Some students claim they overdid it.
"Spray was necessary in some cases to get compliance in some of these areas, to get compliance where the bottles were being thrown. But I don't think it was abused," Dickie said.
More than 20 arrests were made in Dunedin on Friday as the rally from Christchurch arrived in Dunedin. Canterbury University students denied responsibility for the trouble and police said rioting in the city mostly involved Otago students.
Civilians were caught in the cross-fire between students and the police with several passers-by treated by ambulance crews after being hit by glass and other debris.
Police Minister Judith Collins has been blunt in her condemnation of the rioting students. Collins says Dunedin's reputation as a law-abiding city goes out of the window when the Undie 500 comes to town.
The president of Otago University Students' Association is utterly disgusted at the behaviour of the rioters but is calling for creative ways to handle drunken students. Edwin Darlow says they should be encouraging controlled events, as it would prevent large groups of people gathering on the streets.
Darlow says there is something really wrong with those who were involved and he struggles to comprehend how anyone would ever pick up a glass bottle and deliberately try and hit someone with it. He says the people who were hurling bottles and lighting fires should be ashamed of themselves.
Mayor Peter Chin says the rioting is symptomatic of the harm alcohol is doing, not just in Dunedin but throughout New Zealand society.
Dunedin North MP Pete Hodgson says the disturbances confirm his worst fears. He says it's now time to put a stop to the event.
Vice-Chancellor David Skegg has not commented on the disorder.
