Force to stop man escaping justified
An investigation has found police officers were justified in the use of force to stop a man, who had been on the run for a month, escaping.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority investigated police actions after they arrested a man in May 2023.
The man was a high-risk offender and was the number-one priority offender in Central District at the time of the arrest, a police statement said yesterday.
The IPCA’s report said the man had been released on electronic monitoring bail from Manawatū Prison on April 4, a month before he was apprehended.
He cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet and left his bail address in Bulls two days later.
A warrant to arrest the man was issued the same day.
After evading police for nearly a month, the man was seen entering a house in Palmerston North on May 4.
The man had active charges against him, and was known to use guns, knives and other weapons.
Police thought if he escaped the cordons in the area, it was likely he would offend again.
The man fled officers as they approached the house and it was believed he was armed at the time. A gun was found in the car he had used.
An officer fired at the man with a sponge round launcher, which hit the man near his hip, before he dropped to the ground on a driveway.
The man refused to show his hands when officers asked him to and, believing he may try to flee, a police dog handler was used to find and hold the man while officers arrested him.
The IPCA’s investigation examined whether police were legally justified in using force to apprehend the man.
The man’s complaint said he was assaulted during his arrest.
The report said it was not clear whether police punched and kicked the man during the arrest, with a direct conflict of accounts about what happened and no corroborating evidence, so it could not reach any conclusion.
Police acknowledged the report, which found officers were justified in their use of force to stop him from escaping.
Acting District Commander Inspector Clifford Brown said the arrest was well planned and executed to arrest a man who was known to be a danger to the community.
Their officers were trained to resolve high-risk situations using minimal force, Brown said.
“In this instance, the offender made it clear through his actions that he did not intend complying with the officer’s requests, and so they used the tools and techniques available to them to resolve the incident successfully,” Brown said.
“I’m proud of our staff, who regularly put themselves in harm’s way to serve the communities that they live in.”