As stated by Counties Manukau District Commander Superintendent Jill Rogers:
Police agree with the findings of an IPCA report, which concluded a Police officer was justified in using force against a man who was resisting arrest.
Just after midnight on 16 July 2019, two Police officers were alerted to a car with a suspicious looking number plate parked in the Mangere Domain in Auckland.
The officers approached the car to speak with those inside and the passenger was very compliant with Police.
Once the officers confirmed the car was stolen, the passenger got out of the vehicle and one of the officers arrested the driver, who had given false details about his identity.
The man in the driver’s seat then became agitated and resisted arrest, which led to the officer breaking the driver’s window with his baton and deploying his OC Spray.
The IPCA accepts the officer’s use of force was acceptable in these circumstances.
The man continued to resist arrest and attempted to start his car.
The officer believed the man could not drive forward due to bollards blocking the front of the car, and therefore would reverse his car, putting both officers at risk.
Feeling increasingly under threat, the officer elected to use his Taser and proceeded to deploy it on the man three times.
The IPCA found Police were justified in arresting the man and using force to overcome what he believed to have been active resistance.
Despite being tasered, the man drove forward through the bollards and onto a grassed area before driving out of the reserve.
It later transpired there were two warrants for the man’s arrest at the time. He was located and arrested in the following days by different officers.
