An officer taunted Peri during his arrest by calling him a "f****** tough c***" – language the IPCA deemed unprofessional and inappropriate. Police have accepted officers fell short of expected standards.
The event unfolded about 10pm on May 26 when probationary constables responded to a 111 call about brothers fighting, and their mother being unable to physically separate or stop the pair.
When officers arrived at the Kamo house Peri was sat on the deck yelling at his younger brother. At one point a constable stepped between the feuding brothers and placed his hand on Peri's chest as he tried to calm the teen down.
According to the report, Peri said this angered him more and he pulled the officer's hands off. The teen yelled "don't f***** touch me" and pushed the officer with two hands.
When he repeated the action the officer told him he was under arrest. He had warned Peri after the first shove he was assaulting an officer.
The officer asked Peri to put his chest to a van parked in the driveway while they placed a handcuff on his right wrist and asked him to lower his left arm down from the windscreen.
Peri - in pain from an old shoulder injury - refused. Instead he swung both arms around and tackled one of the officers into the van, which broke the vehicle's headlight.
A scuffle between the officer and teen ensued on the ground. At which point the officer's colleague radioed for back-up.
The colleague was standing less than 2m away when Peri suddenly pushed himself off the officer and turned around and looked at her.
She told IPCA investigators she feared for her safety. She grabbed her Taser and fired a single cartridge at Peri as he fled down the driveway.
The shot missed and Peri stopped running. On police orders he lay stomach down on the ground with an "angry" and "fuming" male officer knelt on his back.
Encouraged by calls from his colleague to "f****** spray him", the officer pepper-sprayed Peri between his eyes at close range.
The constable told investigators while Peri was no longer actively resistant, he was concerned the teen could become aggressive again before they were able to handcuff him.
Peri had his left wrist handcuffed and was put into the police car and transported to Whangārei Police Station. It was there officers administered aftercare to minimise the effects of the pepper-spray.
After Peri's arrest he was charged with resisting police, escaping from police custody and manual assault of police. The charges were dropped after he pleaded not guilty in court.
An initial police investigation into the staff conduct ruled the use of the Taser was justified but Judge Colin Doherty, IPCA authority chairman, said there were other less violent tactics available to officers during the arrest as Peri posed a low risk if he had escaped.
Therefore the use of the Taser to prevent Peri escaping was not justified under the Crimes Act, Judge Doherty said.
Both police and the IPCA found the use of pepper-spray was an excessive use of force.
"It was apparent to us the other officer's use of pepper spray was done out of anger, not out of necessity to the arrest," Judge Doherty said.
The police investigation opted to deal with the issue of the excessive force conclusion through an employment process rather than criminal charges.
Acting Northland District Commander Inspector Riki Whiu said the officers involved have been supported with their tactical options decision-making process to help them make better choices in future volatile situations.
"There are lessons for us as a result of this incident that we will learn from so we can improve and do better in the future."
Peri met with the two officers involved via a restorative practice process where police issued an apology to the teen.
The teen was glad the investigation was over but was dismayed by the IPCA's lack of communication throughout the process.
He shared his concerns with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster in a letter, which outlined how poorly the police had treated him as a victim of their misconduct.
