Officers unlawfully entered a woman's Bay of Plenty home in November 2020, the police watchdog has ruled.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) said three officers had entered the woman's home, without a warrant, through an unlocked kitchen door. The officers thought the woman's life or safety was at risk.
The incident unfolded on November 2, 2020 after the woman, dubbed Ms X, had a "civil dispute" with another woman who lived about 800m away. She asked for Ms X to be trespassed and commented she believed Ms X was "distressed, unwell and unstable", the IPCA noted.
It said three officers went to Ms X's home and knocked on her front door. She didn't answer as she was in bed and didn't want to be speak to them.
When she heard the officers opening her back gate, she was alarmed and fled into the bathroom, locking herself in, the IPCA said. The officers then entered her home through the unlocked kitchen door, without a warrant.
Two of the officers had described hearing a loud bang from inside, like a slamming door or falling object, after a third briefly glimpsed Ms X inside the house, running across the hall.
Ms X later climbed out the bathroom window and ran to a neighbour's house for assistance. She returned home later, with the trespass notice eventually served - she hurried down a lane adjacent to her home upon being pointed out to the officers, through a hedge and into the backyard of another house.
She complained the officers entered her home unlawfully.
The IPCA said it initially sought to resolve the dispute with an apology from the police and a debrief for the officers involved.
"That was unsuccessful," it said, independently investigating Ms X's complaint instead.
Police told the IPCA the officers lawfully entered her home under section 14 of the Search and Surveillance Act as they thought there was a risk to her life or safety.
The IPCA found the officers had unlawfully entered her home, stating: "The officers did not have the necessary information to form a reasonable suspicion that Ms X's life or safety was at risk and that they needed to urgently respond, which would justify a warrantless entry under section 14 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. No other power made their entry lawful."
"We do not consider Police entering a private home based on the general views of a neighbour regarding a person's mental health, someone not answering their front door, or the sound of a bang, to be reasonable grounds for a warrantless entry under section 14. The officers did not have any substantial information indicating Ms X was harming or was intending to harm herself," the IPCA said.
"Ms X told us, and we believe, that she was not suffering from any mental illness at the time. Her distress arose from objectively stressful circumstances, relating to family court proceedings."
IPCA chairman Judge Colin Doherty said the officers didn't have substantive information indicating Ms X's life or safety was at risk.
"Their perceptions were coloured by the fact they are often asked to respond to suicide and self-harm incidents.
"Those incidents remained fresh in the minds of the officers. Although the actions of the officers were unlawful, they were not uncaring."
Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said the officers involved had genuine concern for the woman.
"Given that, they entered the home based on what unfolding at the time, the information they had available and their past experiences."
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