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An investigation has been launched into the death of a man who was being restrained by two police officers in south Auckland.
The officers used pepper spray and a baton to subdue the man.
Counties Manukau detective inspector Steve Rutherford said the man, a Pacific Islander who
was known to mental health authorities, died this morning outside his Cornwall Park home after a confrontation with the two police constables.
The two officers, a man and a woman, had responded to an emergency call from another person alleging they had been assaulted.
After locating the person, who was distressed and suffering from injuries, the constables went to the Cornwall Park house where they were confronted by the deceased who was "aggressive, challenging and threatening" to the two police officers.
One officer tried to subdue the man by threatening to use pepper spray, which made the person stop and calm down, Mr Rutherford said.
"Without warning he became aggressive and confronted the officers," he said.
After a brief altercation involving a baton, both officers tried to subdue the man using pepper spray before taking him to the ground and handcuffing him.
A baton may have been used to assist the man to the ground and with only one strike used, Mr Rutherford said.
It was at this stage they noticed the man was no longer resisting them.
Mr Rutherford said it seemed the man had become unconscious and subsequently died shortly afterward at the scene.
Police tried to resuscitate the man and an ambulance was called.
Mr Rutherford said an inquiry akin to a homicide investigation to establish the facts of how the man died had been launched and if anyone was responsible for any criminal liability.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority had also been notified.
He said police were working with Counties Manukau health officials because the dead man and the person who reported the assault were understood to be both receiving psychiatric care.
"This is a tragedy for all concerned," Mr Rutherford said.
A post mortem examination on the man's body would be held in the next 24 hours.
Moderate injuries would have been inflicted by the altercation with police.
He said the person who reported the initial assault was helping police with inquiries.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor described the man's death as a tragedy.
"We extend our sympathies to his family," he said.
It was the worst possible outcome, and every officer's nightmare, to be involved in a situation that resulted in the loss of a life.
"The officers involved will be feeling highly traumatised by this incident, and the association will be supporting them fully as their decision-making and actions now come under intense scrutiny," Mr O'Connor said.
This is not the first time New Zealand police have been involved in a pepper spray controversy.
In July 2006 a five-year-old was affected by pepper spray amid claims of excessive police force.
That incident came just two months after an inquiry was launched into a West Auckland officer who was videotaped pepper-spraying a handcuffed man, lying on his back.
The New Zealand police introduced pepper spray in 1997 as a less violent means of subding offenders.
A 2002 report into the safety of pepper spray, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, concluded that its connection with deaths in the United States was "of concern".
Among the symptoms it can cause are a burning sensation in the throat and severe burning pain in the eyes leading to disorientation and panic.
The report also suggests it possible for the victim to suffer serious respiratory and cardiovascular effects and permanent damage to the nervous system.
- NZPA, NZ HERALD STAFF
