The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer was unjustified in punching a man three times in the head while the man was in the back of a Police car in Waimauku on 12 December 2022.

Police were called to the man’s property after he was heard “going crazy” at about 10pm, during an argument with his partner. Before officers arrived, the man left the property, intending to go for a walk to ‘cool off’.

The two officers who attended saw the intoxicated man walking along the shoulder of State Highway 16, stumbling onto the unlit road. One of the officers took the man’s arm to guide him off the road. In response, the man swung his body and arm around, which the officers believed was an attempt to hit the officer. The second officer tackled the man to the ground, and he was arrested for assault.

Once in the patrol car, the man headbutted the window and spat at the officer who had tackled him to the ground. The officer punched him in the jaw three times.

The man’s partner complained to the Authority that the man had been unlawfully arrested and assaulted by the officers. The Authority conducted an independent investigation into the incident, during which they interviewed the officers and witnesses to the incident.

The Authority found it plausible that the man was trying to break the officer’s grip on him, rather than deliberately trying to hit him. However, the man’s arrest was lawful as the officers genuinely and reasonably believed the man had attempted to hit the officer.

The officer was justified in tackling the man to the ground and it was reasonable for both officers to use low level force to control him while on the ground.

However, the Authority found punching the man three times forcefully in the head was a disproportionate and excessive use of force. The officer had less-forceful options available to him.

The Authority completed its investigation into this incident in February 2024 but delayed the release of its public report until after the conclusion of related court proceedings in June 2024.

© Scoop Media