Police made a number of procedural errors dealing with an injured man who died four days after being released from their custody, Rotorua Coroner's Court was told yesterday.
However, Tokoroa Senior Sergeant Steve Bullock said he believed the officers involved had acted in good faith.
Mr Bullock investigated circumstances leading up to
the death of Anthony Donald Bruce McKenzie, 56, of Rotorua.
Police took Mr McKenzie into custody for detoxification on Friday, November 1 last year after they found him in a drunken state.
He was taken to Rotorua Hospital after he fell twice and hit his head. He was discharged at 3am the next morning and returned to the police station.
Mr McKenzie remained in police custody until the Sunday, when he was sent back to hospital where he died four days later.
Police have said they were unaware Mr McKenzie was suffering from a head injury while he was in their custody, mistaking his behaviour for the effects of too much alcohol.
They had not received any medical information about Mr McKenzie when they picked him up from hospital.
In his evidence yesterday, Mr Bullock said there were a number of procedural errors made by police.
There were omissions in an initial charge sheet filled out when Mr McKenzie arrived at the station and police had also failed to fill out a second charge sheet when he returned from the hospital.
Although Mr McKenzie was checked 18 times while in police cells, there was a period of almost eight hours where no checks were recorded, Mr Bullock said.
He made a number of a recommendations including writing clear instructions about what to do with people who are in police custody for longer than 12 hours.
Despite the errors, Mr Bullock was satisfied police had acted in good faith and in the best interests of Mr McKenzie.
Police had no option but to keep him in custody because he had nowhere else to go, he said.
Rotorua Sergeant Colin Peers, who had worked the weekend Mr McKenzie was in custody, said if faced with the same situation again he would "do things differently."
Mazen Shasha, the hospital doctor who initially treated Mr McKenzie, said he checked on him six times before he finished his shift, leaving him in the care of another doctor.
Cross-examined by the lawyer for Mr McKenzie's family, Mark Hammond, about why a CAT scan was not carried out Dr Shasha said there was no need because Mr McKenzie's condition was improving.
Dr Shasha agreed with a suggestion made by Rotorua Coroner David Dowthwaite that there might have been another incident which caused a head injury while Mr McKenzie was in police custody after being released from the hospital the first time.
The second time Dr Shasha saw Mr McKenzie he had bruising to his eye, spine and chest and was a "totally different person".
Kathleen McNab, a nurse who saw Mr McKenzie, said she discharged him after speaking to the duty doctor Tom Townend.
Dr Townend had not wanted to see Mr McKenzie.
Ms McNab admitted she should have given police some information about Mr McKenzie and advised them how to look after him.
Mr Dowthwaite adjourned the inquest until Friday.
- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)
Police made a number of procedural errors dealing with an injured man who died four days after being released from their custody, Rotorua Coroner's Court was told yesterday.
However, Tokoroa Senior Sergeant Steve Bullock said he believed the officers involved had acted in good faith.
Mr Bullock investigated circumstances leading up to
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