Brian Tamaki says a potentially volatile confrontation with police instead became a calm and unexpected moment of prayer during a protest gathering.
In a social media post the Destiny Church leader said demonstrators came face to face with a police blockade amid strong media interest, with cameras positioned for what he described as a hostile standoff. Instead, Tamaki said the group chose prayer over confrontation, resulting in what was a noticeable shift in atmosphere.
Tamaki said frontline police officers were not responsible for tensions surrounding the protest, describing them as workers doing a difficult job under pressure from senior leadership. He criticised police management, accusing district leadership of publicly opposing him, while stressing his support for officers on the ground.
Prayers were offered for police wellbeing, their families, marriages, and integrity, as well as for cleaner police stations and honest leadership. He said he told officers that if he were prime minister he would immediately approve a pay rise for frontline staff.
Tamaki said the encounter ended without violence, hatred, or disorder, and said some officers thanked the group afterward. He described the moment as a peaceful and patriotic stand for New Zealand.
A POWER MOMENT WITH POLICE!
An unexpected highlight today was the moment we fronted the police blockade.
That was a moment.Let me be clear…the police on the frontline are not the problem.
They’re doing a job, often in tough conditions, under pressure from powers above them.… pic.twitter.com/ORhgLEfEAT— Brian Tamaki (@BrianTamakiNZ) January 31, 2026
Good to see only NZ flags there. Good call Brian, as united we stand, divided we fall.
Yeah they are part of the problem, as long as they go along with undemocratic instructions from this globalist government and others like it. If they refused to comply on the grounds New Zealand is a democratic society, where free speech and freedom of expression (including protest) are a basic right, then the slow creep authoritarianism would not be possible. We have seen it elsewhere in the world but not here. If I were PM they would be cut back,. streamlined, de-politicised and made to wear body camera’s, at all times on duty. Bad behaviour by them, would see harsher sentences, not lesser ones, than the rest of society.
Why is ok to have confrontation and intimidate other groups instead of praying for them?
Is it because they don’t have tasers and batons?
Is it not the government and councils bureaucrats making the immigration and event decisions?