Northland police use of force okay but failed with head injury care, IPCA finds

Armed police have been cleared of using excessive force on a Northland man who suffered a head injury but have been rebuked for not providing correct medical care.

The incident happened when Armed Offenders Squad members executed an arrest warrant for a man at a property in rural Kāeo in January 2023.

A second man complained to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), saying he was assaulted and suffered a head injury when he was pulled from the house.

The IPCA investigation found police believed the wanted man had a firearm and posed a significant safety risk.

As well as executing the warrant for the wanted man, they invoked a warrantless search power to search the property for firearms in the early hours of January 12, 2023.

During the incident, the wanted man ran out the back door and fled to nearby bush. The Armed Offenders Squad surrounded the property and called to the remaining occupants to come out.

At the rear of the house, a man — who was not the person police were seeking — was yelling abuse at police.

An officer told the man to come out of the house or he would be arrested for obstruction. The man came to an open back door but refused to comply.

The unnamed officer also heard gunfire and did not know who was firing. It later transpired the shots were from police officers fatally shooting two dogs.

After telling the man he was under arrest for obstruction, the unnamed officer grabbed the man and pulled him out of the house.

The man resisted being handcuffed and was taken to the ground. During the course of his arrest, the man sustained a head injury, including a cut to his forehead.

After the arrest of the wanted man, police bandaged the injured man’s head and left the property.

The injured man complained he was assaulted by the unnamed officer, while another woman at the house complained the injured man had his head smashed into a wall and was forced to the ground where he was punched and kicked.

The independent investigation found the officer used reasonable and proportionate force to pull the man out of the house and to restrain him on the ground, given the circumstances of the incident.

The IPCA was unable to decide what caused the man’s head injury, with differing statements from the house occupants and officers. It found there was no evidence of the use of excessive force.

However, the authority found police breached their head injury policy by not providing the required medical care for the man’s head.

Police acknowledged the findings from the independent report, with Northland District Commander Superintendent Matt Srhoj saying it agreed with the police investigation.

He acknowledged a medical practitioner should have been called to assess the injured man’s head injury, as required in policy.

“As a result, we have worked to address this finding and implemented a process to prevent this from happening again.”

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.