The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into an incident in which a man was misidentified by Police, and wrongly arrested.
Police were called to a motel, where a man was reported as drunk and behaving aggressively. On speaking to the man, officers misidentified him as a different man with a very similar name – for whom there was an arrest warrant outstanding. The man was arrested and taken to the Police station.
At the Police station, Police failed to perform the correct checks to confirm the man’s identity. At no time did the man complain about having been arrested or say there had been a mistake.
The man’s identity was subsequently discovered three days later when he was transferred to a Corrections facility, and he was immediately released. Police have subsequently apologised to the man, and shared the lessons learnt with Police.
The Authority agrees with the findings and outcome of the Police investigation.
IPCA: 21-7275