Protester drives at New Zealand police as cordon tightens

Police in New Zealand's capital say a protester drove a car toward a police line, narrowly avoiding officers, and other protesters sprayed officers with a stinging substance

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- One protester drove a car toward a New Zealand police line, narrowly avoiding colliding with officers, while other protesters sprayed officers with a stinging substance, police said Tuesday, as they tightened a cordon around a convoy that has been camped outside Parliament for two weeks.

The clashes in the capital of Wellington came a day after police reported that some of the protesters had thrown human feces at them.

Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters the actions of some of the protesters, who oppose coronavirus vaccine mandates, were unacceptable and would be dealt with forcefully.

“Our focus remains on opening the roads up to Wellingtonians and doing our absolute best to restore peaceful protest,” Chambers said. “The behavior of a certain group with the protest community is absolutely disgraceful.”