Police are aware of another large tangi event which is expected to take place in Porirua this week, to farewell a Mongrel Mob member who died in a motorcycle crash.
Terry Taiapa died in hospital after a crash with a car at the intersection of Warspite Ave and Driver Cres in Porirua last Thursday.
A tangi to farewell Taiapa, a Mongrel Mob member, is expected to take place on Wednesday.
Kāpiti-Mana Area Prevention Manager Inspector Nick Thom said enforcement action will be considered if required.
“Police respect the mourners’ wish to grieve and will be monitoring the event to ensure public safety.”
Thom said police are urging those involved to be considerate of other road users and adhere to alert level restrictions.
Under alert level 2 guidelines no more than 100 people are allowed to attend a funeral or tangi and organisers must legally record attendees to make sure contact tracing can happen, if needed.
Taiapa’s death comes just three weeks after 18-year-old Rikki Enoka, died in a motorcycle crash in Johnsonville.
At least 200 people gathered on the street in the Porirua suburb of Waitangirua, dozens wearing Mongrel Mob insignia, to farewell Enoka.
More than 120 vehicles then travelled in procession along State Highway 1 to Pukerua Bay for the tangi.
Two people were arrested, four cars were impounded and police issued 50 infringement notices for riding dangerously on a vehicle.
Thom said the large procession caused “significant disruption to traffic” and isn’t ruling out further enforcement action as the investigation continues.
Earlier Thom said the majority of people who took part in a procession behaved within the road rules, but some drove dangerously.
Police investigated a report a person travelled from Auckland to Wellington for the tangi, but later said it was unable to confirm the veracity of the report.
