No prosecutions over Haka

Police in the US state of Utah will not face punishment for using pepper spray and batons on a group of Polynesian spectators performing the Haka war dance at a high school football game.

Uintah County Attorney Mark Thomas said it was a misunderstanding due to cultural differences and no criminal charges were warranted.

Officers used pepper spray on about a dozen men and boys who did the traditional dance after their team lost an American football game.

Mr Thomas opened an investigation at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union after an internal police investigation concluded the officers’ actions had been justified.