KEY POINTS:
The victim of an alleged bashing by four police officers says he feared for his life when they hit him with batons and squirted pepper spray through vents into a closed cell.
Rawiri Falwasser said that after he was soaked with pepper spray, the officers attacked him with
batons.
One struck him on the top of his head, splitting it open.
The stench of pepper spray made other officers in the area outside the cell retreat, and a doctor called to treat Mr Falwasser could not see him through the fog of spray.
Senior police and Corrections officers called to investigate the Whakatane case have condemned the actions of the four officers, saying Mr Falwasser posed no threat.
The use of batons and pepper spray in the confined space contravened police regulations and the Crimes Act.
Witnesses, including doctors who treated Mr Falwasser, said the cell was covered in blood.
Sergeants Erle Busby and Keith Parsons, Senior Constable Bruce Laing and Constable John Mills have denied assaulting Mr Falwasser, who is in his 20s. They say he posed a danger to police, and they wanted to assist him medically.
The four officers, who are suspended, yesterday entered not guilty pleas in preparation for a trial in the Tauranga District Court next year. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The Herald can now reveal evidence in the depositions file after a suppression order was lifted by Judge Peter Rollo, who ruled the case was of "high public interest".
He also allowed publication of a Crown summary of facts, but continued suppression of closed-circuit TV footage of the alleged assault.
The depositions file contains more than 300 pages of evidence, including a 21-page statement by Mr Falwasser in which he speaks of his terror during the incident.
"I really did fear for my life, especially when I saw those batons come out," he said.
"I wrote 'Jesus' on the wall of the cell using my blood. I wrote 'Jesus' on the wall because I was asking for help, as no one else would help me."
The Labour Day incident happened after Mr Falwasser was arrested for stealing a neighbour's car. It was the first time he had been in trouble with police and he was later diagnosed by a psychiatrist as having had a psychotic episode, although he had no history of mental illness.
Mr Falwasser admitted resisting requests to fingerprint and photograph him, but witnesses said he was not violent.
He was placed in a cell, and the summary of facts said Parsons pepper-sprayed him in the face when he objected to being moved.
A 20-minute assault allegedly followed, during which Busby and Parsons hit him with batons.
The blow to the head was allegedly inflicted by Parsons while Mr Falwasser was bending down.
Mr Falwasser was later pepper-sprayed through vents at the top and bottom of the cell by Parsons, Laing and Mills.
Mills allegedly got a box of 72 pepper-spray canisters, most partially used, and put on a mask and gloves before returning to spray Mr Falwasser, holding a canister of spray in each hand.
"The floor is, by this time, a liquid mess of blood and pepper spray," the summary said.
Mr Falwasser was allegedly beaten back with batons when he tried to block the vents and breathe less contaminated air through the lower one.
His injuries included a 5cm gash on his head which required stitches, a 6.5cm laceration on his left hand and bruising on his arms and legs.
A psychologist said Mr Falwasser had post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident.
Whakatane police and a mental health nurse said he appeared to be on P, but tests showed no trace of the drug in his system.
Colleagues of the four officers said Mr Falwasser was violent and tried to attack Parsons and Busby.
But senior police investigating the case said the behaviour on the TV tape was unacceptable.
"The investigation revealed the possibility of criminal offending by a number of police officers," investigation head Detective Senior Sergeant Lance Burdett said.
John Moran, a Police College instructor with 38 years' experience, said Mr Falwasser was not a threat and hitting him on the head was unjustified.
The Defendants
Sergeant Keith Parsons, 51 Two charges of assault with a baton, one charge of assault with pepper spray.
Constable John Mills, 39 One charge of assault with pepper spray.
Sergeant Erle Busby, 46 Four charges of assault with a baton.
Senior Constable Bruce Laing, 53 One charge of assault with pepper spray.
