A Christchurch teenager who urinated and soiled herself while being arrested wasn't allowed to shower in custody, leaving the police watchdog appalled.
On July 27 last year, a 14-year-old girl was spotted driving a Toyota as part of a convoy of three stolen vehicles across Christchurch.
Police saw the convoy driving dangerously and followed them to the Riccarton Mall McDonald's car park. The officer parked his car behind the Toyota to block it in.
This led to the teenager ramming the officer's car around three times.
After getting out of his car, the teen ignored the officer's request to exit the Toyota, prompting him to smash the driver's window.
Soon after, another officer joined him, and they pulled the 14-year-old out of the car, which was when she urinated and soiled herself.
She also ended up with a cut on her head, glass in her right eye and bruises across her body.
While being held in custody, police gave her wipes, a change of clothes and a sink to clean herself but denied the girl's request for a shower.
A complaint about the girl's treatment was filed to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), who found the level of care she received while in custody "appalling".
"We found that by not allowing the girl to shower, police breached their policy for managing people in custody and acted inconsistently with the s23(5) of the Bill of Rights Act," the watchdog said.
"The Authority found it appalling that she wasn't given the opportunity to shower."
A complaint was also made about the officer's use of force during the arrest, but the IPCA found it to be "justified considering the dynamic circumstances surrounding her arrest".
"We found that the force used by the officers was reasonable, necessary, and proportionate to the force the girl used in resistance by ramming the police car."
Police respond
In a statement, police said it was "regrettable" the teen was not allowed to take a shower.
"A subsequent police investigation found that her custody evaluation was not completed to a satisfactory level," a spokesperson said.
Two custody officers have been spoken to "and have taken on board learnings from this incident".
"The Christchurch custody suite has also taken steps to ensure they are better able to meet the needs of detainees.
"As a result, police have addressed the expectations and their obligations to individuals in the custody suite with staff to ensure adequate care is provided."
The IPCA found police have since "taken proactive steps" to make sure they have adequate clothing and have adequate clothing, reminding staff of their obligations.
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