Cops investigating cops
Dozens of allegations of police misconduct are under investigation, including high-profile complaints against a reality TV show contestant and a police area commander.
Figures released to the Standard reveal 700 allegations of misconduct were made nationwide in the first three months of 2017 and 153 of those are under investigation by police and the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Those under the microscope include Central District area commander Superintendent Sue Schwalger for her handling of a complaint into Senior Sergeant Nathan Davis, a
Twenty-four allegations have been upheld, including complaints about use of force on duty, excessive speeds and unauthorised use of a database.
In the Central District region, which includes Manawatu and Whanganui, there were 70 allegations made against 56 staff. Seven have been investigated and three upheld.
Davis is under internal investigation after being accused of misusing police powers by charging a former colleague with illegal hunting.
The case was thrown out of court before it went to trial and the Survivor NZ contestant. former cop believes he was targeted with a vexatious prosecution because he was awarded an undisclosed payout after being bullied by a senior police officer.
In a statement, Central District Superintendent Sue Schwalger said Davis was not involved with the prosecution and the paperwork had been filled out incorrectly.
The former cop who brought the charges then laid a fresh complaint with the authority against Schwalger, alleging her statement was misleading and preempted the outcome of the investigation.
The authority has agreed the two complaints should be looked at separately. Both will initially be investigated by officers from outside the Central District to avoid a conflict of interest and will be overseen by the authority.
Senior police professional conduct manager Inspector Donna Laban said only a small number of complaints were upheld each year.
‘‘However, we also recognise that despite the best of intentions, individual staff members are human. They and the organisation as a whole don’t always get it right.’’
In 2016, 2690 complaints about police conduct were received, down 3 per cent from 2015, when there were 2759.
This downward trend was encouraging, Laban said, but they never wanted to be complacent.
‘‘There is a robust process in place to manage complaints about staff conduct and we are not afraid to investigate and hold our people to account where appropriate.’’
Complaints were managed by the Police Professional Conduct Group and investigators were appointed to each matter.
Each investigation was reviewed both by the district concerned, police national headquarters and the authority.
According to the police, the top five allegations made covered ‘‘service failure’’, 251; ‘‘unprofessional behaviour’’, 127; ‘‘breaches of official conduct’’, 90; ‘‘use of force on duty’’, 77; and ‘‘arrest/custodial malpractice’’, 54.
In the Central District, 53 allegations were made against 43 staff. Of these, 16 were for ‘‘service failure’’, 13 for ‘‘breaches of official conduct’’ and 10 for ‘‘unprofessional behaviour’’.