Whangārei police officer Taylor Stephen Morgan on trial for alleged assault with sponge-round launcher

Taylor Stephen Morgan, who is on trial at Whangārei District Court, worked in the tactical unit at the Whangārei police station in 2023. Photo / NZME

A former tactical unit police officer is back on trial for allegedly striking a man in the head with a sponge-round launcher during an arrest, but the officer claims it was an accident.

Taylor Stephen Morgan appeared in the Whangārei District Court on Tuesday for day one of his second trial, where he is facing one charge of assaulting a person with a blunt instrument.

Morgan first went to trial in 2024. However, the jury could not reach a verdict and a retrial was ordered.

The 30-year-old is alleged to have assaulted Matt Sinclair with a 40mm sponge-round launcher in Whangārei on January 10, 2023, during an arrest.

On that day, police were trying to locate Nicky Lemon and were travelling along Tauroa St, Raumanga, Whangārei, when they spotted a vehicle.

Lemon was driving and Sinclair was in the passenger seat of the vehicle that headed north on to West End Ave and then up Kōtata Rise.

Police officers Hayden Waetford and Morgan, a member of the Whangārei tactical unit, followed but by the time they reached Kōtata Rise, Lemon and Sinclair had run off.

Constable Joshua Van Der Kwaak and police dog Caesar were called to attend. Caesar eventually located Sinclair lying in the mud in the mangroves.

The Crown said Morgan was holding a 40mm sponge-round launcher when he caught up with Sinclair, who was lying on the ground and had Caesar attached to his arm.

Prosecutor Danica Soich said Morgan punched Sinclair in the eye and then held the launcher with two hands and struck him in the head.

Soich said Sinclair’s head immediately began bleeding while he was reportedly saying “You’ve got me” and surrendering.

The Crown will call Waetford and Van Der Kwaak to testify about what they saw during the arrest.

“You will hear from Waetford about the way [Morgan] held the launcher using two hands, striking [Sinclair] over the head in a way that was no accident,” Soich told the jury in her opening statements.

“The Crown says after hearing the evidence you should have no trouble finding the defendant guilty.”

Morgan’s lawyer Mathew Ridgley told the jury there was no assault and no intentional application of force.

“During this arrest of Mr Sinclair you’ve got Taylor Morgan executing an arrest in equipment not fit for purpose,” Ridgley said.

“There’s a lot going on and it’s at that stage there’s a 40mm launcher hanging down, swinging. No intent, no assault.”

The trial is expected to run until the end of the week before Judge Taryn Bailey.

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.