The use of police dogs, who bit two people while being arrested in New Plymouth in 2021, was justified, the police watchdog has ruled.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) said in a report that that three young people were caught attempting to steal a car on February 14, 2021.
Police received reports of people trying to break into a car early that morning. When police arrived at the scene, the alleged thieves weren't there.
The officer then rang a dog handler, instructing them to come and locate the alleged offenders.
When the dog handler arrived, he saw two people trying to steal another car nearby.
Two of them fled but the dog handler caught the third, telling him he was under arrest and to stay where he was.
He then released the police dog who chased the other two people.
The IPCA said the dog handler commanded the dog to bite the two young people who had run away.
The report said the dog handler was justified in instructing the dog to bite them and to arrest them.
Authority chairman Judge Colin Doherty said: "We have said in recent cases that the seriousness of the offence of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle is towards the lower end of the scale.
"This affects the assessment of whether the level of force police use to effect arrest is reasonable and proportionate."
He said what distinguishes this case is that the young people appeared to be committing that had seen a significant recent increase in the New Plymouth area.
"This appears to have been a rare occurrence where police had the opportunity to catch young people in the process of committing an offence of this class, and for this reason we found that the officer’s release of his dog on two offenders was justified."
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