Reports on independent investigations 2024

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that a custody officer was unjustified in striking a detainee on the side of his head in the Manukau District Court cells in January 2023.

Public Report (PDP 375 KB) Media Statement 

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that Police failed to respond appropriately to an emergency call reporting that a pedestrian had been hit by a car near Benneydale.

At about 3am on 24 January 2023 a man was walking along a dark rural road when he was hit by a car heading towards Benneydale. The man was killed instantly. The driver of the car failed to stop and drove to his mother’s address in Benneydale where he told her what had happened.

Public Report (PDP 407 Kb) Media Statement

On 19 April 2023, Police arrested a man in Tauranga who had stolen a car and abducted his daughter the day prior, then fled from Police. The Authority found the use of a Police dog during the arrest was justified. 

Public Summary Report (PDP 176 KB) 

Police advised the IPCA of an incident at Henderson where an officer had struck a man with his Police vehicle. We found that the use of a weapon of opportunity, in these specific circumstances, was justified under section 48 of the Crimes Act 1961.

Public Summary Report (PDP 302 KB)

The Authority found that officers were justified in using a sponge round launcher and Police dog to apprehend a man in Palmerston North on 4 May 2023.  The man, who was a high-risk offender, had cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet and absconded from his bail address almost one month earlier and had been evading Police since that time.

Public Summary Report (PDP 172 KB)

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found a man was inappropriately charged with a serious sexual assault arising from events in Auckland in October 2019, as a result of an inadequate Police investigation.

Public Report (PDP 439 KB) Media Statement 

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that two officers at Wellington were not responsible for a car crash that resulted in the deaths of two men, notwithstanding breaches of Police policy during the incident.

Public Report (PDF 514 KB) Media Statement 

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that a Police dog handler’s decision to use his dog to apprehend a young person was not justified.