As a precaution, following reports of an organised brawl scheduled to take place at a central Hamilton bus depot today, St John Ambulance are ordering staff to wear stab-proof vests.
By Emlyn Williams
Adrian Gavin, St John area operations manager for Hamilton’s central west, said "light-weight tactical vests" had been issued to ambulance staff.
"The vests are designed to provide stab, slash and light ballistic protection and offer an additional layer of safety to our people, in the rare instances where they may be called for.
"The safety of our people is paramount, and the use of vests does not change our standard approach, which is to only deploy ambulances crews into environments with risk of violence when cleared by NZ Police."
Schools in the area are also taking steps to keep students safe, with a Hamilton intermediate school posted a warning to parents on Facebook urging students using public transport which takes them into Hamilton city centre this afternoon to make alternative transport arrangements.
“This is an important message for students who were planning on using public transport which takes them into Hamilton City Centre after school tomorrow (Friday 10 February). Due to the possibility of an advertised fight event, the police have advised as a precautionary measure that alternative transport arrangements are made for your child on this day and to avoid going into the city centre.”
The Sacred Heart Girls' College deputy principal told Newshub "I will be at the bus depot tomorrow to help ensure our wonderful students get home without incident".
Police are aware of the planned brawl and are continuing to discourage people to come into the city to watch.
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