A pair of police officers have been found justified in their use of pepper spray, a police dog, and a Taser in their arrest of a man in Christchurch last year.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) determined the use of force by the two officers was justified when they attended a domestic incident at a block of flats in Hei Hei, in March 2017.
The IPCA determined the man was bitten by the police dog following use of the Taser.
Police said in a statement "due to the speed at which the situation had escalated, the bite was unintentional and the police dog handler did not have sufficient time or space to prevent it from occurring".
The officers attending the incident were advised that a man had assaulted his partner and punched another person.
The man was also known for resisting and assaulting police.
Police said the man actively resisted the attending officers and became aggressive when they attempted to place him under arrest for assault.
However, despite the finding justifying the officers, police have since implemented training for the police dog team to avoid a similar situation happening again in the future.
"I commend the professionalism shown by the staff involved, in what was a difficult and unpredictable situation," Canterbury District Commander, Superintendent John Price said.
"They successfully protected themselves and the public from further harm with their use of appropriate force and a correct risk assessment of the situation."
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