Taser, pepper spray use ‘justified’

Two police officers were justified in using force to arrest a Geraldine man who tried to flee from them by jumping into a car and punching its driver repeatedly when he refused to get out, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has found.

IPCA chairman Judge Colin Doherty ruled two police officers, labelled Officer A and B, were justified when they began but quickly abandoned a police pursuit, blocked traffic on the Orari Bridge, and used Tasers, pepper spray, and manual force to catch a man spotted leaving a McKenzie St, Geraldine, address known to be frequented by drug users.

The man, labelled Mr X in the report, was arrested on the evening of August 31, 2018.

Police had been on the lookout for a black Holden Commodore Ute, of which Mr X was a passenger, after receiving a report of it being driven ‘‘erratically’’ at speed, on the wrong side of the road, and with no lights on near Washdyke, Timaru, about 6.15pm.

Officer A spotted the vehicle in Geraldine about 30 minutes later, alerting the Police Southern Communications Centre while he ‘‘took an alternative route to intercept it’’, Judge Doherty said.

When the car drove through a stop sign at the intersection of McKenzie and Connolly streets, the officer activated his lights and siren. The driver, Ms W, hit the accelerator and a 15-second police pursuit ensued.

‘‘When he determined the risk was too great, he abandoned the pursuit as per police policy. Officer A was justified in commencing a pursuit and complied with police policy throughout.’’

Officer B heard the car was heading towards Orari Bridge on State Highway 79 over the police radio, and decided blocking traffic on the single-lane bridge was the ‘‘safest’’ way to stop the vehicle.

‘‘Although he acknowledged that traffic could accumulate, Officer B said that parking on the bridge prevented any oncoming traffic bypassing him and colliding head-on with the Holden,’’ Judge Doherty said.

The fleeing Holden crashed into the back of the officer’s car. Ms W and Mr X hopped out and ran towards the vehicles queuing to cross the bridge.

Mr X jumped into one vehicle, pulling at its occupant’s shirt and revving the engine in his efforts to force the man, Mr Y, out – to no avail.

After trying to get into another vehicle only to find the driver had locked the door, Mr X went back to Mr Y and punched him multiple times.

Officer B parked alongside Mr Y’s vehicle and chased Mr X, who began ‘‘[squealing] like a factory-farmed pig’’.

As Officer B repeatedly told Mr X to ‘‘get on the ground’’, Officer A arrived while Ms W hid down a bank.

‘‘Mr X ran away from the officers towards Officer B’s police car. He entered the driver’s side door and locked the car,’’ Judge Doherty said.

With Mr X blocking their attempts to unlock the car, Officer A smashed the window with his baton.

‘‘The authority does not consider that it was wise to break the police car window as breaking the glass created a hazard, damaged the vehicle, and prevented Officer A reaching in to unlock the door – contrary to his intention.

‘‘While the authority accepts the officers felt the need to act urgently, they should have taken the time to consider alternative courses of action.’’

Officer B shot his Taser through the broken window, Officer A following suit after attempting to use a depleted canister of pepper spray. They both shot their Tasers a second time.

‘‘All four uses of the Taser and the use of pepper spray occurred within a 30-second period,’’ Judge Doherty said.

‘‘Taser records show that no current was delivered during any of the four Taser deployments, rendering them ineffective. It was later established that Mr X was wearing four layers of clothing, which likely undermined the Tasers’ effectiveness.’’

Mr X slipped out of the police car and ran, the officers in pursuit.

Officer A tackled Mr X to the ground but he ‘‘did not relent, still trying to attack’’. The officers sat on his back and legs but it took a third person, Mr Z, to pin him down.

‘‘Officer B gave Mr Z a pair of handcuffs and asked him to handcuff Mr X as he and Officer A were struggling to contain his arms. Officer B then deployed a Taser contact stun once to Mr X’s buttock to subdue him, which enabled Mr Z to apply the handcuffs.’’

Judge Doherty said the officers had lawful grounds to apprehend Mr X through force because he had assaulted Mr Y, made three attempts to steal a car, and they feared he had a weapon.