Police accept that an officer's use of a Taser in Dunedin cells last year was not justified.
In a report released yesterday, the Independent Police Conduct Authority found the officer's use of force against an aggressive detainee was unjustified, because she had other options.
The incident occurred on February 13, 2019.
The man was acting aggressively at Dunedin Hospital’s emergency department and he was intoxicated. Police put him in an observation cell.
An officer saw on CCTV that he was trying to harm himself and several officers ran to the cell to intervene.
He resisted and kicked out at an officer.
An officer referred to as Officer C used a Taser after the man challenged and moved towards her.
Southern police district commander Superintendent Paul Basham said Officer C felt threatened but police accepted the authority's finding that using a Taser was not the most appropriate option.
‘‘Police officers are put in high-pressure situations every day where they are required to make quick decisions about their own safety, as well as the safety of those around them,’’ he said.
Officer C and two other officers should also not have been carrying Tasers in the custody area.
Authority chairman Judge Colin Doherty said: ‘‘The officer could have stepped back out into the corridor and allowed the two officers still in the cell to grab and restrain [the detainee], as they had previously done.’’
The authority accepted a police assessment — that the man was a suicide risk — was reasonable and that force used to prevent self-harm was appropriate.
Despite it being contrary to policy, it was normal practice for Dunedin watch-house staff to carry Tasers at that time.
Police had updated the Taser policy to make it clear that staff must remove Tasers when entering custodial areas.
