Cop who threatened restrained offender with pepper spray acted inappropriately, watchdog says

Tuesday, 25 June 2019

The threat to use pepper spray while the man was restrained was both unnecessary and inappropriate, the IPCA says.

A police dog handler acted inappropriately when he threatened to pepper spray a man being restrained on the ground, the watchdog says.

The incident happened as the man was being arrested following a police chase along St Luke's Rd in Auckland's Mt Albert, which ended with the car being spiked and coming to a stop in Mt Eden.

A police dog handler threatened a man restrained on the ground with pepper spray.

An Independent Police Conduct Authority report into the incident said police asked the occupants of the car to get out and onto the ground with their hands behind their backs.

An occupant of the car alleged that although he did what was asked of him, he was assaulted by the police dog handler during the arrest.

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'He also complained that police used racist and derogatory language towards him,' the report said.

The man contacted the IPCA to complaint about his treatment and an investigation was launched.

He told the IPCA: 'I just felt [police] like slamming me on the ground … holding me down, pinning me down … on my back, one on the back of my head … they were just treating me really like a dog'.

He also said an officer told him to 'stop f…… resisting' even though he was already lying face first on the ground with his hands behind his back.

Another officer arrived to find the dog handler crouching over the man with a knee on his shoulders, pepper spray at his head, threatening to use it.

IPCA said there was nothing to indicate the spray was used.

The man said he told the officers he was struggling to breathe while handcuffed on the ground but was told to 'shut up'.

'He also said he turned his head to see if [his friend] was okay, at which point he felt a kick to the forehead,' the report said.

Once in the police car, the man said the dog handler continued 'verbally baiting' him.

The officer allegedly told the man to 'f… off back to whatever island you came from' and when the man told the officer he had considered joining the force, he was told: 'we don't want you.

In his police statement, the cop claimed the man had verbally threatened him and denied kicking him.

IPCA found the dog handler's threat to use pepper spray while the man was restrained was both unnecessary and inappropriate under the circumstances.

It also accepted the man received a blow to the forehead while being restrained but it couldn't determine if it was deliberate or accidental.

The IPCA found the dog handler used offensive and derogatory language towards the man.

'He failed to act in a manner that would be reasonably expected of an experienced, well-trained police officer,' IPCA's general manager Warren Young said.

Auckland City District Commander Superintendent Karyn Malthus said police acknowledged the findings.

'We would note that the officer left police completely unrelated to this complaint after having served the community for a significant number of years and was not interviewed as part of this process, Malthus said.

'Having said that, we do want to make it very clear that using offensive or derogatory language is completely unacceptable and not in line with police values.'

'The allegation made against the officer that he had kicked the passenger in the head was not substantiated and a number of officers who were assisting in arresting the passenger never saw this happen. The IPCA has acknowledged this.'