Armed offender’s broken leg not caused by police dog bite, officers justified in using force

Police have been cleared of any wrongdoing during an arrest where an armed offender, who was Tasered four times and bitten by a police dog, broke a leg. Photo/ Christine Cornege

Police officers have been cleared of wrongdoing after an armed offender broke his leg and was bitten by a police dog during his arrest.

The man, identified only as Mr Z in a report released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), told the watchdog that officers unnecessarily released a dog on him.

He claimed he had already surrendered and was restrained on the ground when the dog bit his lower right leg, which he believed caused the fracture.

Mr Z was armed with a long-handled axe and a knife when armed police confronted him at a rural property in Rolleston, Christchurch, on November, 26, 2021.

Mr Z, who had just finished a sentence of home detention and was a disqualified driver, earlier attended a friend’s funeral in Christchurch.

He was living in Hampden about 250km away and as none of his support people would drive him to the funeral, he stole a car.

Officers identified Mr Z, who had a firearm, in Geraldine but he sped off and they did not pursue him.

A cordon and road spikes were set up to stop the vehicle but Mr Z avoided the spikes by driving on the wrong side of the road.

Police got 40 complaints about his driving as he headed north.

At the Rakaia River bridge, police stopped southbound traffic and successfully spiked Mr Z’s car but he continued across the bridge before smashing into a ute stopped on the other side.

Mr Z then pulled a woman from the driver’s seat of a car behind the ute, while a passenger jumped out, and he again headed north.

A short time later, Mr Z crashed again before trying to take a third vehicle at knifepoint from an Allied Service Station. But he was unsuccessful and he fled on foot.

A woman at a property near the service station then told police a man was hiding in the bushes of her garden.

Members of the armed offenders squad, a dog handler and officers cordoned off the property.

An officer announced the presence of the dog and instructed the fugitive to come out with his hands empty and above his head. But Mr Z bolted from the bushes carrying the axe.

When confronted by an officer armed with a Taser and another armed with an M4 rifle, Mr Z dropped the axe but continued to advance with a knife.

Three Tasers hit him but he brushed off the wires and continued to advance.

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A fourth Taser cartridge and a sponge round hit Mr Z, ausing him to fall to his hands and knees, while still holding the knife.

As officers struggled to bring him under control, he was struck two to three times and bitten by the police dog.

Mr Z claimed police set the dog onto his leg after he was on the ground and restrained, the IPCA decision said.

But all officers involved defended their actions, stating Mr Z was aggressive and advancing with a knife and they believed he would not hesitate to use it if he got close enough to them.

“The situation was fast-moving and dangerous and the authority accepts that the officers could not delay taking action. The man’s continued aggression posed a direct and imminent threat to officers. He needed to be brought under control as soon as possible.”

IPCA chairman Judge Kenneth Johnston KC found Mr Z had not surrendered when the dog bit him.

The authority also obtained clinical advice on the injuries, which showed that, although the dog bite was on the same leg, it was above the fractures and did not directly cause them. The fractures were spiral and most likely caused by the leg twisting while full weight was on the foot.

He ruled Mr Z was injured as he tried to evade capture, which was supported by medical evidence and Taser footage.

“It also shows that the injury was not directly caused by either the Police dog bite or by officers effecting his arrest.”

Officers provided the man with prompt and appropriate medical care until he could be taken to hospital.