IPCA finds Whitianga police officer’s car ramming, punches, unjustified, could have been fatal

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that a police officer's actions during the arrest of a man in Whitianga were unjustified. Photo / NZME

A skateboard-wielding man suspected of family harm and aggravated robbery used his board to smash the windscreen of a police patrol car when officers arrived at an apartment to arrest him.

But moments later, he was sent flying through the air as an officer, who claimed to have shattered glass in his eyes and to be fearing for his life, rammed him with the patrol car.

The officer then got out of the vehicle and punched the man in the head seven times. Both the officer and the man were injured.

While the man was convicted of intentional damage and intentionally injuring the officer, the officer was acquitted of common assault and assault with intent to injure when he defended the charges at a judge-alone trial last year.

Today, however, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has released its report on the March 2023 incident in Whitianga, following an investigation into the officer’s conduct.

The authority has ruled the officer, who is not named in the report, was unjustified in his actions.

According to the authority, two officers went to an apartment complex in Whitianga following a call from the man’s ex-partner, who was alleging family harm.

When the officers arrived, the man skateboarded past them.

While a check on the police database confirmed he was also wanted in connection to an alleged aggravated robbery, the officers checked on the family instead of pursuing him.

When they arrived back at the station, they received another call regarding the man, who had returned to the apartment.

The officers decided to return and arrest him in relation to the robbery, with one driving to the scene and the other approaching on foot from another direction.

As the first officer drove into the carpark, the man walked towards him, yelling and raising his skateboard before striking the windscreen and the driver’s window.

The officer was covered in shattered glass, which got into his eyes, and was fearing for his life, according to the report.

Although he initially started driving away, he decided to turn back out of concern that the man would attack the second officer.

Upon seeing the man again walking towards him holding the skateboard, the officer rammed him with the patrol car.

“[He] was launched into the air, flipped upside down and landed upright between the front of the Police car and the fence.”

The officer then got out of his car and punched him seven times in the head before the second officer arrived and handcuffed the man. The incident was captured on CCTV.

While the authority accepted that the officer acted in defence of himself and the second officer when he rammed the man with his car, it found his response was a disproportionate and unjustified use of force, considering that “the slightest miscalculation or loss of control could have resulted in a fatality”.

In respect of the punches, the authority did not accept that the officer genuinely believed the man still posed a threat. This use of force was also unjustified.

Relieving Waikato District Commander Superintendent Scott Gemmell said police accepted the IPCA’s findings.

Gemmell said it was a confronting and unpredictable situation for the officer involved.

“Our investigation and subsequent legal advice found the force used was excessive and as such, the officer was charged,” he said in a statement.

“An employment investigation remains ongoing and we cannot comment on the specifics for privacy reasons.”

However, Gemmell confirmed the officer is still working for the New Zealand Police.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.