Families Ask Medical Examiner to Release Eagle Chopper Police Images of Attack After Alo Ngata’s Death in Custody

Two families have asked a medical examiner to release footage from the police Eagle helicopter showing the brutal attack and subsequent arrest of a violent and deranged man who later died in police custody.

The images are subject to a non-publication order, which the families have requested to cancel.

“We felt like that would be the only way to get people to listen,” said Tom Reilly, whose father Mike barely survived the unprovoked attack.

Alo Ngata, 29, struck the retiree and former country musician within an inch of his life on a Freemans Bay street in July 2018.

The sturdy Tongan supermarket worker and meth user attacked Reilly without warning, repeatedly kicking him and stomping his head.

The brutal beating lasted for several minutes and only ended when police applied four tasers to Ngata, pepper sprayed him twice and restrained him with handcuffs, leg restraints and a spitting hood before detaining him.

A witness claimed to have heard Ngata say “I cannot breathe” during the arrest. He died in hospital three days later when life support was cut off.

A report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority, released Thursday, said a post-mortem examination found that Ngata died of asphyxiation.

The report ruled that the use of police force was reasonable, but found “multiple flaws” on the part of the officers involved in Ngata’s arrest.

This included not realizing that the spitting hood had been applied incorrectly and taking immediate action to verify his well-being after Ngata was left alone and still, face down on the cell floor.

No officer was convicted criminally. A coroner has yet to comment on Ngata’s death.

The Herald may reveal that Ngata’s grieving family has now turned to the coroner to release images of the attack.

The family, who have criticized the police for their role in Ngata’s death, are understood to have already seen the footage.

Tom Reilly told the Herald that his family was also interested in accessing the images, but for different reasons.

They hoped that a visual record of the beating Ngata inflicted on Mike Reilly would help convince ACC that his horrible injuries were the reason he could no longer walk.

Although he was able to walk before the attack and was living independently, the 78-year-old is now “bedridden” in a Lynfield nursing home and cannot walk without assistance.

Despite Reilly spending a month in the hospital after the attack, doctors say his walking problems are “degenerative wear and tear” and blame years of heavy drinking on nerve damage.

The ACC rejected further treatment last year, saying “this cannot be funded … as it is not related to accidents / injuries,” before backing down when the family brought in attorneys.

After reading about Reilly’s case in the Herald, an expatriate Kiwi neurologist based in the United States contacted the family and offered to review Reilly’s files.

After evaluating medical records and eyewitness accounts, Quentin Durward wrote to Tom Reilly this month, saying that although there were signs of degeneration, the evidence from the attack was “compelling.”

“I can only assume that the head injury that resulted from the assault did indeed cause an injury to his brain that resulted in this permanent deficit.

“I am of the opinion that Mike most likely had a brain injury from the assault, and that injury is a major factor in his inability to walk.”

Tom said Durward’s opinion had raised his father’s hopes and that the family would now return to ACC.

“It’s exciting to finally have someone give us an opinion that aligns with common sense.”

Now they wanted compensation for the time Reilly had not received proper treatment and a funded rehabilitation program.

Tom believed that the images would provide compelling visual evidence to present to ACC.

“Without that kind of evidence, it’s just a bunch of doctor’s notes on a piece of paper. It doesn’t have the same impact as seeing what happened that day.”

A spokesperson for the coronary services confirmed that the Ngata family had requested that the non-publication order related to the Eagle video images be lifted, which was supported by Reilly’s son Tom.

“The coroner is awaiting submissions from each party’s attorneys before making its decision. The non-publication order remains in effect in the meantime.”

Police also made a presentation, but said it would be inappropriate to hand it over to the Herald while the coroner deliberated.