Applause for police after taser incident

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Police used pepper spray and tasers to subdue a gang member during an incident in Gladstone Road near Cobden Street at midday on Thursday.

A witness said it started when the car the gang member was driving pulled up in the middle of the road.

“The driver got out and started yelling,” a witness told The Herald.

“A police car with two female officers in it happened to be nearby and they stopped and asked him to move.

“He failed to do so and at that point we saw him reach inside the car for something.

“At that point one of the officers rushed up and pepper-sprayed him in the face.”

The gang member ran off towards the Pak’nSave carpark, pursued by the officers.

“The officers tasered him before he got there and then he ran towards the Z Service Station with the two taser leads still attached to his back and the officers following him.”

The witness said the officers eventually subdued the man in the service station.

Other police arrived and he was taken into custody.

“This was a big guy and those young female officers did not flinch. They did not back down from him,” the witness said.

“I thought they were awesome and I gave them a clap when they returned to their car.

“This incident sends a strong message, I reckon,” he said.

“It was a really awesome display of police procedures and courage.”