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Protesters march on June 1 in Auckland, New Zealand, in solidarity with demonstrations across the United States following the killing of George Floyd.
But after a white nationalist gunned down 51 people in two mosques last March in Christchurch, New Zealand's police introduced a pilot program to send heavily armed police teams on patrol in three communities.
Both of the communities near Auckland that were selected for armed patrols had large populations of Maori and Pacific Islanders, another minority community in New Zealand.
New Zealand's police association defended the program, saying no officer fired a single shot during the six-month pilot, and insisting that its goal is to protect these communities from violent crime.
Though Coster did not reference the recent protests over police brutality against people of color, Whaipooti believes that the Arms Down New Zealand campaign might not have succeeded without the U.S. demonstrations.
