The youths had been followed by patrol vehicles and the police Eagle helicopter through various Auckland suburbs in the early hours of Jan 3, 2022, as they tried to evade capture for about 25 minutes, according to the summary of facts agreed to by both Mendoza and the Crown.
“At various times the vehicle drove erratically and other times into oncoming traffic,” court documents state.
“After successful use of tyre deflation devices, the vehicle made its way towards ... Mt Roskill.”
The alleged driver of the stolen car is not identified in court documents. The 13-, 14- and 17-year-old complainants were all described as passengers.
Mendoza brought his patrol vehicle to a stop directly behind the Subaru and ran to the car as the passengers began to exit.
Mendoza first hit the 17-year-old with an open-hand strike to his head area as the teen exited the vehicle, looking towards the ground. He and another officer then grabbed the teen by the shoulders and forcibly took him to the ground, documents state.
“Mr Mendoza delivers a second strike to [the 17-year-old’s] neck/head as [he] lay on his side,” the summary of facts states.
Mendoza then pulled the 13-year-old boy out of the vehicle and threw him to the ground before another constable took over and the defendant turned his attention to the 14-year-old girl, who was voluntarily lying face-down with her arms behind her back.
“As Mr Mendoza reaches [the girl], Mr Mendoza delivers a significant knee strike to [her[ back upper torso,” court documents state. “The impact of this knee strike is enough to cause [her] whole body to move.”
The officer delivered two more strikes to her upper shoulder while she “remained prone with her hands behind her back”.
Mendoza declined to be interviewed after the incident came to be under investigation.
He was charged last June, 18 months after the youths were apprehended.
At today’s brief hearing, Judge Kirsten Lummis accepted the guilty pleas for two counts of assault and set a sentencing date for September.
Assault carries a maximum possible penalty of one year’s imprisonment. However, defence lawyer Richard Marchant indicated he will seek a discharges without conviction at the sentencing hearing. Judge Lummis agreed to delay entering convictions until the application can be heard.
The other two officers who were charged alongside Mendoza maintain their not guilty pleas. They are expected to fight the allegations during a judge-alone trial later this year.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
