‘I was concerned’: Rotorua witness describes ‘ugly’ situation leading up to claim 10yo was tasered by police

A woman claims a 10-year-old was tasered by police. Photo / Supplied

A witness to an incident resulting in a claim a 10-year-old boy was tasered by police alleges authorities were initially called because a woman was wandering the main street threatening to stab a man.

A woman claiming to be a relative of the boy made the allegation on social media and in messages to the Herald, providing a picture of a plaster on a torso and an ACC form showing a claim for a 10-year-old with the cause of injury listed as “taser fired by police”.

In statements to the Rotorua Daily Post, police said they were alerted to a family harm incident outside a property on a central Rotorua street at midday last Friday.

Police alleged that when “staff arrived minutes later, a person attempted to stab one of the officers with a knife - this officer was arresting another individual at the time”.

The witness said police were trying to talk to the woman outside an emergency accommodation facility when the young boy ran out with a knife.

She said it looked like the same knife the woman had previously been holding.

“He’s waving it around at the police. They’re asking him to put it down, and talking to him, they’re not touching him, they’re just talking to him. But he’s swinging the knife around them, trying to stab them and kick them and all that.

“They were instructing him to put the knife down, put the knife down, he wasn’t listening he was still trying to go for them.”

The witness said the boy tried to run into the building before a scuffle took place and the boy was taken into the police car.

“I was really concerned about the public that was down there.”

Police said a taser was deployed towards the person with the knife but was not successful. The person was taken to hospital for assessment.

The statement said none of the attending officers was injured and they “did an extremely professional job keeping everyone safe”. Investigations into the incident continued.

Following further questions, police clarified the taser was “deployed against a young person, who is going through a youth process”.

Police were asked to confirm the person’s age.

Two women were arrested; one received a formal warning and the other was being referred to Te Pae Oranga - a tikanga and kaupapa Māori and restorative justice process.

Police said any time an officer deployed a taser after a risk assessment, they must complete a Tactical Options Report detailing the circumstances in which the officer believed the action was necessary to keep people safe.

The report and the taser footage would be reviewed by the officer’s supervisor and then the Area Commander.

Police announced in 2015 that all frontline officers would carry tasers, also known as stun guns.

Asked on Saturday for an update on the condition of a 10-year-old boy tasered, a Rotorua Hospital spokeswoman said: “The patient was discharged from ED the same day.”

NZME has attempted to further contact the woman who posted about the incident.