A carer for a 21yo mental health patient who was shown the 11yo’s photograph mistook her for their patient.
Health New Zealand and Waikato Police are conducting reviews, with apologies issued for the incident.
Police who detained an 11-year-old girl before she was drugged in a case of mistaken identity had attempted to use a photograph to identify her, a top police officer says.
A carer for a 21-year-old mental health patient who was shown the photograph then mistook it for their patient, leadingto the younger girl being given antipsychotic medication.
Police were called to Fairfield Bridge in Hamilton about 6.40am on March 9, after a person described as a female in her 20s was seen walking in distress.
Acting Waikato district commander Superintendent Scott Gemmell told the Herald the 111 caller reported that the woman appeared to be intoxicated and that city cameras captured her climbing up the rails of the bridge.
Gemmell said police units, including a police boat, responded immediately, fearing her safety.
“She was repeating the questions that the officers had asked her. They weren’t able to form an identification of her at that point, but she looked by virtue of the wider circumstances of someone that needed care and it progressed from there.”
The Herald understands the girl is autistic and non-verbal.
Police were called to the Fairfield Bridge in Hamilton on Sunday, March 9, after a person described as a female in her 20s was seen climbing on to the railings. Photo / NZME
Police were concerned she was suffering from a mental health episode and took her to Waikato Hospital’s Henry Bennett Centre for assessment where she was handcuffed and later understood to have been injected with two doses of haloperidol, an antipsychotic medicine.
When police arrived at the hospital with the young girl, Gemmell said officers took a picture of her and sought help trying to identify her via a distribution list of police staff.
“One [police staffer] came back thinking that it was another person,” Gemmell said. He said the staffer understood the last known location of the nominated person was in close proximity to the bridge.
“Our staff identified the name of the mental care provider and phoned through ... we then asked if we could send a photo through to ask do you think this is the person we’re talking about.”
Gemmell said the carer believed the missing woman in her 20s looked like the young girl, which was then relayed to Waikato Hospital.
He said he’d viewed images of the woman and the girl with “critical eyes” and said further corroboration was needed.
The pair shared similar hair and similar complexion, Gemmell said: “I saw side profiles that could be similar, but yes ... it wouldn’t be enough to give a clear indication.”
The young girl, who the Herald understands is autistic, was administered by injection two doses of antipsychotic medication at Henry Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital. Photo / Michael Craig
About 6pm – some 12 hours after police responded to the bridge incident – a woman reported to police that her 11-year-old daughter was missing.
Health New Zealand has apologised for the “traumatic experience” and said a high-level review would be carried out, which would also draw on independent clinical expertise.
Deputy chief executive for Te Manawa Taki (Central North Island region) Cath Cronin said the review would be completed in a matter of days.
“We want to fully understand what happened and will review every step taken while the young person was in our care, including any medication or treatment given, to try to ensure this never happens again.
“Our staff work extremely hard to provide the best care they can for people coming into our care and are deeply disappointed this young person was incorrectly identified.”
Asked why the issue wasn’t raised with the Government sooner, police said while they were aware of the misidentification, its ramifications were not apparent until the end of last week.
“It was only then we were made aware of the full picture of events, taking into account information from other agencies,” police said.
Gemmell said Waikato Police was also conducting an internal review.
Asked what police would do differently next time, Gemmell said: “With the benefit of hindsight, as much corroboration on our identification as we could possibly get is the best way to go forward.
“On this occasion we went with what we thought was a verifiable identification, but it wasn’t and we’ve apologised [to] the mum for the distress that we’ve caused here.”
He said bearing in mind police’s thought at that time was her safety, it wouldn’t have been right to take her to a police station and said fingerprinting wouldn’t have brought up a result as such.
He added staff involved in the incident were “really devastated”.
‘Incredibly concerning’: PM Luxon says ministers informed two weeks after incident
Luxon on Tuesday described the incident as “incredibly concerning”.
“As a parent, you identify with what is a horrific set of circumstances that has happened and it’s just incredibly distressing and concerning, massive amounts of empathy and concern for her and her family.”
Ministers were informed of the incident following a Herald query on Friday afternoon, almost two weeks after it occurred.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during the post-Cabinet press conference at the Beehive, Parliament, Wellington, 24 March, 2025. NZME photograph by Mark Mitchell
Luxon said the two-week delay was “unacceptable” and expected the review to uncover what had happened.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey was also disappointed it took so long for him to be informed by Health NZ.
“I spoke to Dale Bramley, the acting chief executive, to say that was quite frankly not good enough, but the serious incident review is under way and I expect to keep updated on how that review is going.
“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare and that’s why I’ve sought assurance of the welfare of the 11 year old, I’ve been given that assurance that she is doing well.”
Doocey said his office wasn’t informed earlier because Health NZ staff didn’t follow its own escalation protocols and the incident “appeared to stay local”, meaning its acting chief executive wasn’t advised either.
“That’s part of the serious incident review now to understand why that wasn’t followed – whether someone actively chose not to escalate the issue, or there was confusion whether some people thought someone else was notifying.”
