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An investigation by the Independent Police Conduct Authority found that a Taranaki police officer “wrongfully” struck a man in the face while arresting him in December last year.
A Taranaki police officer wrongfully struck a man in the face during his arrest in December last year, according to an investigation into the incident.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) investigated a complaint that a man was punched in the face while handcuffed in Taranaki on December 7, 2019.
The incident took place when an officer went to an address and arrested a man in connection with an incident at a neighboring address that same day. The complaint alleged that the man was punched several times in the face while handcuffed.
The IPCA found that the officer struck the man twice while fighting him on the ground and attempting to handcuff him. The first hit was to the man’s abdomen, the second was to his face before pushing the man’s head against the ground.
The IPCA accepted that the first punch to the abdomen was reasonable to distract the man by resisting arrest.
In relation to the punch to the man’s face, the IPCA accepted the officer’s explanation that he was acting in self-defense as he believed the man was about to spit on him.
However, it considered that the officer could have prevented the man from spitting without punching him and, therefore, the punch was “unjustified”.
IPCA President Judge Colin Doherty said the officer had the right to defend himself from being spat on.
“The maneuver to keep the man’s head against the ground was reasonable but there was no need to precede that movement with a punch to the face.”
The IPCA said that police had advised that it intends to work to ensure that the national tactical training manual reflects the risk of applying force to the face, throat and neck areas and that such force must be reasonable and proportionate to circumstances.
More to come.
