An Independent Police Conduct Authority report into the death of Alo Ngata has found the spit hood used during his arrest was "not applied correctly", however it believes an officer’s "unacceptable" actions and decision-making while he was in custody is the bigger issue.
The IPCA report released this morning focuses on both the lead up to and the moment of Ngata’s death in July 2018, after police were called to a residential street in central Auckland where authorities said Ngata had just assaulted an elderly man, who was unknown to him, in an unprovoked attack.
The conduct authority interviewed 19 officers as part of its investigation, along with Ngata’s partner and her family – who were present at the arrest – as well as Ngata’s wider family and his last employer.
The group also reviewed police files, including footage from Taser cameras and CCTV, and interviewed police tactical options trainers about the use of Tasers, pepper spray and the spit hood in relation to the case.
The report confirmed Ngata was on methamphetamine at the time of the incident and his arrest – something his family had feared during their conversations with TVNZ1’s Sunday during their investigation into the situation.
The 29-year old was tasered, pepper-sprayed and tied up by police after he randomly attacked an elderly man in 2018 before he died a few hours later in a cell. (Source: Other)
The report detailed how, following the use of pepper spray and four applications of a Taser, Ngata fell to the ground and was put in handcuffs. Plastic ties were used to restrain his legs.
Once restrained, Ngata began spitting blood at officers, so they opted to use a spit hood to not get blood on them.
A spit hood “is a covering for the head, with the top third made of mesh and the rest made of plasticised paper to prevent fluids escaping", the report detailed.
“The bottom third of the hood is shirred with elastic, to secure the hood around a person’s neck without constraining it.
“Police policy requires that when a spit hood is applied to a person, they should be monitored constantly until the spit hood is removed.”
The report highlights the fact that a person who has been pepper sprayed “should not have their face covered” and “the word ‘should’ implies a limited discretion for officers to apply a spit hood, even if it means covering the face of a person who has been pepper sprayed”.
“If police decide to cover the face of a person who has been pepper sprayed, it is even more important that the person is constantly monitored. However, the authority could not find evidence that any officer was specifically assigned to monitor Mr Ngata until he was in the police van,” the report stated.
Ngata was then put into the back of a police transport van and driven to the Auckland District Custody Unit, which the report says was a “short drive” in which an officer kept watch throughout.
Six officers removed Ngata from the van and carried him to a cell while he violently resisted, the report states. While they carried him, though, the report states CCTV footage “suggests he was in a reduced state of consciousness” and his entire face was covered by the spit hood – an incorrect application of the restraint tool.
Once in the cell and both Taser probes and his handcuffs and leg restraints had been removed, the custody supervisor told officers to leave the spit hood over his face.
The report states this decision was wrong, saying the supervisor’s rationale was “poor and failed to consider all the relevant factors”. The IPCA considers it “unacceptable” that the spit hood was left on Ngata while he was alone in the cell.
“These shortcomings, which the authority considers a failure of leadership, led to inadequate care of Mr Ngata,” the report said.
Marie Dyhrberg QC says police did not follow correct protocols in restraining Alo Ngata who died in custody. (Source: Other)
“While custody officers paid attention to immediate concerns around safety for themselves and Mr Ngata, [the custody supervisor] did not provide the proper oversight of the incident as a whole. At key times when critical decisions were being made, [the supervisor] was passive or absent.”
When officers left the cell, Ngata was placed on constant monitoring but CCTV footage showed no officer constantly observed him.
The report stated “Mr Ngata remained lying face down, with his hands behind his back as if still handcuffed".
"He can be seen taking several deep breaths, but these stopped soon after he was left alone.”
Police re-entered the cell hesitantly minutes later to discover Ngata had stopped breathing and gave CPR until other emergency services arrived. The report says there was an “unacceptable delay in starting medical treatment due to a reluctance to enter the cell”.
He was declared brain dead two days later, before his life support was switched off.
The post-mortem report for Ngata recorded the cause of death as being a lack of oxygen to the brain causing brain cells to die.
The report stated this occurred because of an abnormal heart rhythm which was brought on by a combination of positional asphyxia, methamphetamine intake, an enlarged heart and “possible” suffocation by the spit hood.
The IPCA noted the post-mortem report stated the spit hood could have contributed to the obstruction of Ngata’s breathing.
“If there had been any excessive salivation, or fluid or blood from the airways, then the fluid between the hood and face would have led to the formation of relatively impermeable membrane and thus potentially restricted his breathing,” it stated.
In their conclusions, the IPCA said police failed to assess Ngata’s wellbeing or responsiveness throughout the difficult and highly physical arrest.
The report also says it was appropriate to use a spit hood in the given circumstances but no officers realised it was incorrectly positioned.
However, data released to TVNZ1's Sunday under the Official Information Act prior to today’s report release revealed officers have failed to follow their own policy which prohibits the hooding of individuals after they have been pepper sprayed.
In 2018, 10 people were pepper sprayed and then had the spit hood applied.
Last year, the breach of police policy happened 13 times.
Watch Sunday’s exclusive with the IPCA and the Ngata whānau in this week’s programme, which airs at 7.30pm Sunday on TVNZ1.
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