Police officers who used a firearm and Tasers in a "poorly planned and executed attempt" to arrest a wanted man in a busy Northland car park was unjustified, the police watchdog has ruled.
On the afternoon of March 3 last year, officers spotted a man wanted for committing 12 suspected burglaries while he was driving to a busy shopping centre in Tikipunga, Whangārei.
Armed offenders squad officers followed the 38-year-old in their patrol car to the car park and attempted to prevent him from escaping.
One of the officers smashed the front passenger window of the man's car with a metal bar.
However, the man was able to reverse out of the parking space, after which the same officer fired his Taser at the man through the broken window.
The man's vehicle hit the rear of the police patrol car as he attempted to drive away from the car park, with the two officers pursuing him on foot.
He then hit a further three vehicles before coming to a brief stop, during which the first officer drew his pistol and ordering the man to stop.
Rather than surrendering, the man reversed his vehicle, hitting another car.
The second officer then fired his Taser once through the driver's side window, as the first officer fired two shots from his pistol at the car tyres.
Despite significant damage to his car, the man was able to escape in his vehicle, which he then abandoned before escaping on foot. He was arrested in Auckland five days later.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) said in its decision, released today, that the officer who fired shots from his pistol was not justified.
"The risk of death or injury to members of the public, including women and children in the vicinity, far outweighed any risk the man posed," the ruling read.
The IPCA also concluded that the officers who used their Tasers were not justified as it was against police policy and “made the incident more dangerous because of the risk of the man losing control of his car in the busy car park”.
The police watchdog was also critical of the police’s failure to investigate the incident adequately or to discipline the officers involved.
"Police found that firing the pistol was an ‘extremely risky course of action’, and firing the Tasers was contrary to policy. However, they took no action against the officers," the IPCA said.
Authority chairman Judge Colin Doherty said the attempted arrest with "inadequate police resources and planning, directly resulted in the inappropriate firing of the pistol and Tasers".
"The fact that no one was injured, or even killed, in this incident is remarkable and owed entirely to luck.
"I am disappointed that despite the officers acting contrary to policy and placing members of the public at significant risk, police have entirely excused their actions."
Judge Doherty acknowledged police have since carried out a review into the operation, during which they identified a number of lessons to take away from the incident, including reminding officers of the policy regarding shooting at moving vehicles and its communications processes.
The police today accepted the police watchdog's findings into the incident.
Northland District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill called the circumstances and actions in the first arrest attempt were "unfortunate".
"The police staff involved in this incident were acting with good intent to apprehend an offender, actively committing offending, and who may have been in possession of a firearm," he said.
"Police accept that the tactics employed at the time were unwise and not in line with our policy or public safety."
A review into the operation has since been completed, and police "have identified several opportunities to improve".
"Our community expects that we conduct our operations in a well-planned and considered manner," Hill said.
"We have since made improvements from the lessons identified in our review, including our procedures and additional training.
"The IPCA’s report also notes these changes have been implemented and are already being used in combined operations by the groups concerned."
The man remains before the court facing numerous charges.
SHARE ME