Police officer cleared by IPCA after punching teen twice in face during arrest

A police officer was justified in punching a youth twice in the face with a closed fist after the boy reached for an object hidden under his shirt following a traffic stop, the IPCA has ruled. Photo / NZME

A police officer who punched a teenager twice in the face with a closed fist before pulling him to the ground where he was handcuffed has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the organisation’s watchdog.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) received a complaint from a relative of the boy, who claimed he had been beaten by the officer following a traffic stop in Tokoroa in May last year.

An investigation was launched into whether stopping the vehicle was reasonable and lawful and if the force used by the officer was justified.

Authority chairman Judge Colin Doherty said in a decision released on Wednesday that the IPCA didn’t usually consider it reasonable for officers to punch people in the face, but accepted the situation warranted the actions taken.

“This circumstance where the officer had a reasonable belief Mr X was reaching for a weapon, I consider the two restrained punches were justified.”

The IPCA noted several attempts had been made to speak with the 16-year-old but were unsuccessful, so it could only go on the details he provided officers in an interview after his arrest.

At 4.50pm on May 29 the officers saw the blue Ford Falcon being driven by the youth, only identified as Mr X, north of Tokoroa on State Highway 1.

“The car was in poor condition, with no front number plate, tinted windows, and crash damage on the rear right. Mr X, an unlicensed driver who lives in Hamilton, was driving the vehicle,” the decision said.

Officers activated their lights and siren to signal the driver to stop but he continued at the same speed before speeding up slightly as he turned down several streets.

The teen eventually pulled into a cul-de-sac and stopped at the end of the road.

Police told investigators the house the car stopped outside was connected to gang members, which raised concerns about dealing with the occupants.

After approaching the car Officer A opened the driver’s door and removed the keys from the ignition, advising the teenager he was under arrest for failing to stop. Another unit also arrived at the scene.

The teen was unco-operative and ignored Officer A, picked up his mobile phone, and attempted to make a call.

Police took the boy’s cellphone from him and repeated that he was under arrest for failing to stop, telling him to get out of the car.

Officer A said Mr X became “immediately aggressive” and yelled words to the effect that he was only 16, so couldn’t be arrested.

Feeling the need to bring the youth under control urgently the officer reached in and tried to grab the teen’s top to remove him from the car.

“Mr X hit out at his arms, pushing his arms away and tensed up, withdrawing back into his seat. Mr X reached for something underneath his hooded sweatshirt at the front of his body,” he told the IPCA.

Fearing the boy was going for a weapon, Officer A struck him twice in the face with a closed fist.

“I’ve pulled metal bars off people, I’ve pulled baseball bats off people. I’ve known people to have firearms down their waistbands. It could’ve been a number of things. It was just a long cylinder object, that’s the way it appeared,” he said later.

“I didn’t hit that hard... It was more to, distraction pain to, you know, take his focus away from what he was doing.”

The teen was then immediately pulled from the vehicle and forced face-down onto the road.

Knee pressure was applied to the boy’s upper back after police noticed his hands were tucked under his stomach area. This resulted in him bringing his arms around so he could be handcuffed.

The object was removed and discovered to be a glass bong.

Other officers told the investigation the teen appeared to have a large cylinder like a bat under his shirt and was “aggravated, like he was yelling at us and just refusing our instructions”.

Later that day during a video interview the teenager, in the company of his mother, acknowledged how police could have thought it was a weapon.

“Mr X also said that it was his favourite bong, and he did not want it to be taken by police.”

Judge Doherty accepted the teen was not complying with the officer’s instructions, and was likely using some force when hitting out to avoid being pulled from the vehicle.

Under section 48 of the Crimes Act, any person including police was legally justified in using reasonable force in defence of themselves or another.

Doherty said Officer A and three colleagues were close to the youth as he reached under his clothing.

“He believed it was not safe to withdraw if Mr X had a firearm or other weapon which could then be used against himself or the officers present.”

The IPCA ruled the officer’s use of force was reasonable in the circumstances.

“In the moment, Officer A was dealing with a person unknown to him outside a gang address, who had failed to stop, had resisted being removed from the vehicle, and was reaching for an unknown object under his clothing,” Judge Doherty said.

“Given the circumstances, we consider it reasonable for Officer A to believe Mr X had a weapon of some kind.”

Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said police accepted the IPCA’s findings.

“We trust our officers to make the best decisions possible at the time to ensure people’s safety and wellbeing, and routinely look at what lessons can be learned,” Anderson said in a statement.