On Sunday, 13 June 2021, Mr Taranaki Fuimaono died after becoming unresponsive while in custody at the Auckland Police Custody Unit. The Independent Police Conduct Authority conducted an independent investigation into the care Police provided while he was in custody, prior to his death.

On 11 June 2021, Mr Fuimaono was admitted into hospital, complaining of abdominal pain and shortness of breath. He was placed in an induced coma and tests were conducted. When staff removed Mr Fuimaono’s clothing, they found a concealed package. The following morning, Mr Fuimaono was brought out of the coma and placed under arrest for possession of methamphetamine.

Hospital staff were unable to determine the cause of Mr Fuimaono’s pain. Later that day, (12 June 2021) he was discharged from hospital into Police custody with medication and an outpatient referral.

When Mr Fuimaono arrived at the custody unit, an officer failed to complete his custody evaluation correctly. Mr Fuimaono was placed on, what, in our assessment, was an inadequate monitoring regime which only required he be checked once every two hours.

Mr Fuimaono was placed in a cell at about 6.30pm. Although drowsy, he walked unaided and spoke coherently to officers. However, CCTV footage shows that, over the next five-and-a-half hours, his condition deteriorated. He was physically agitated, sweating profusely, unsteady on his feet, and would frequently slump, appearing to fall asleep before waking himself up. There were instances where Mr Fuimaono was visibly struggling to breathe. At 12.10am, an officer found Mr Fuimaono unresponsive in his cell and staff provided medical assistance. However, Mr Fuimaono died in hospital shortly before 2am.

Expert medical opinion indicates Mr Fuimaono’s death may have been unavoidable, regardless of where he was at the time.

Police custody staff are not medical professionals and cannot be expected to identify or diagnose the medical condition of a detainee. However, they have a duty to monitor detainees and organise medical care for them if they appear unwell. Staff are trained to recognise when a detainee is in a partially unresponsive or unresponsive state, and in such cases must ensure they are taken to hospital.

The Authority found that officers failed to recognise that Mr Fuimaono was unwell during checks and when using the available CCTV footage. They should have recognised this and ensured he received medical treatment earlier.

The Authority also found that, once it was established that Mr Fuimaono was not breathing, officers should have been quicker to commence CPR, retrieve the defibrillator, and call the ambulance.

The custody sergeant should have ensured the custody evaluation was accurately completed and that it was updated throughout Mr Fuimaono’s time in custody to include relevant information such as the officers’ observations of Mr Fuimaono’s condition.

WorkSafe New Zealand charged New Zealand Police for alleged breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. However, in August 2024, they withdrew the charges. We delayed the release of our report until after the conclusion of these court proceedings.

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