The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into the force used to restrain a mentally unwell elderly man in Waitematā in October 2024.
Police were called to the man’s address by concerned neighbours. The man had barricaded himself into his house and needed emergency medical attention.
Police and ambulance staff tried to convince the man to let them into his house but the man was too unwell to engage with them. Police forced entry and forcefully removed the man from his bathroom, as he fought against the officers with a tokotoko.
The man struggled strongly against several officers as they restrained him on the ground so he could be treated and taken to hospital. During the restraint, the man bit one of the officers twice on his knee. The officer punched the man in the head to get him to stop.
The officer’s colleagues raised concerns that the officer continued punching the man after the man had stopped biting the officer.
Police investigated and did not find the evidence supported these concerns. The officer’s legs were pinned underneath the man’s body, and he could not get away. He delivered two punches to the man’s head, stopping when the man stopped biting him. The force the officer used was proportionate and necessary to defend himself. Police accepted that the other officers did not have a clear view of events while also trying to restrain the man, and raised concerns on the basis of what they thought they had seen.
The Authority is satisfied with the investigation Police undertook and the outcome reached.
IPCA: 24-24990