Man wielding hedge trimmer blade who trapped woman, baby was ‘violent and not rational’ - witness

Police were justified in tasering a man who trapped a woman and baby in a Wellington bus stop. Photo / Getty Images

By Bill Hickman of RNZ

A man who saw police officers taser an armed man who had trapped a woman and her baby in a Wellington bus stop has praised their efforts during a life-threatening situation.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) found officers were justified when they tasered a man who then sustained a serious head injury after falling on to the road.

Police were called to reports of a man armed with a blade from a pair of hedge trimmers, who had trapped a woman and her baby in a Wellington bus stop in January.

Police tasered the man when he refused to drop the weapon while standing within metres of the officers.

Judge Kenneth Johnston KC said they acted in genuine fear for the safety of the woman, the child and themselves.

A man who saw what happened, and who wished not to named, said he was at home that day when he heard a child and could not tell whether they were crying or laughing.

“Then I heard a male voice in a different tone, and it ... didn’t sit well with me, and I thought, that doesn’t sound right.”

When he went outside and saw the man had a weapon, he called the police.

“It was clear that he was violent and not rational,” he said.

“He was basically waving that around belligerently, kind of seemingly at nothing, but also in a threatening manner ... deliberately hacking away at the bus stop whilst the woman and child were inside that bus shelter, I guess trying to stay as far away from him as they possibly could.”

Once the man was tasered, he hit the ground hard, the witness said.

“I distinctly remember the sound of him hitting the road, [I’ll] never forget that.

“It was basically just a large slap.”

He was impressed with officers’ actions, saying it was, at maximum, one minute between their arrival and disarming the man.

“I thought their response was fantastic ... they’re doing what they’re there to do, which is to protect the community, and they did it swiftly.”

If they had not, the situation could have been a lot worse, he said.

“It was an appropriate response, given that there was ... at least the way it appeared to me, a life-threatening situation.”

The IPCA report said the child was uninjured and the woman suffered a deep cut to her thumb after pushing the man’s weapon away from her.