The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into a man’s complaint that he was bitten by a Police dog despite surrendering.

The man drove through a red light and failed to stop for Police when signalled to do so. After a short pursuit, the man parked in the driveway of a nearby address. The man says that he immediately exited the vehicle and stood still, placing his hands in the air. The officers following the man say that, as soon as he exited the vehicle, he turned and ran away. An officer released his Police dog and the dog bit the man. The man was then arrested.

The Police investigation concluded that the man was fleeing and that the officer was justified in using the dog. As a result, Police took no disciplinary action against the officer.

The defence relied on by the officer in relation to his use of force was s40 of the Crimes Act 1961. This entitles Police to use force to apprehend someone who is fleeing to escape arrest. However, there are strict requirements built into the provision to protect against any unjustified use of force. The Authority was not satisfied in this case that the use of force would be justified having regard to the s40 tests. However, we have acknowledged to Police that there may be room for different views as to this.

More concerning for the Authority is that, in our view, Police have not at any point interpreted and applied s40 correctly. We have made our concerns clear to Police.

We have not recommended that Police consider charging the officer as, in our assessment, a prosecution in this case would not meet the public interest test in the Solicitor-General’s Prosecution Guidelines.

IPCA: 24-23179