The police watchdog has found an officer was justified in shooting and seriously wounding a man during a Whanganui arrest, but criticised police for escalating the confrontation and for pepper spraying a 13-year-old boy during a struggle over a phone.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority said all the officers' uses of force were justified, but described the case as "finely balanced" and held "residual concerns with the way officers handled the situation".
The man, who had outstanding warrants and was believed to have access to firearms, survived after being shot with a Glock pistol at the end of a struggle which lasted about four minutes on December 12, 2023.
The incident began just before 4am on Talbot St, when two officers saw a SUV parked on the verge with its bonnet up, taillights on, and three men nearby — one of whom ran and hid behind a car when the officers stopped to speak to them.
An officer with a sponge round launcher challenged the man to come out and fired a sponge round as he emerged, believing he was about to be assaulted. The officer then recognised the man as someone with outstanding warrants and who had previously shot at and driven at police.
Officers used the launcher, a police dog, a Taser, pepper spray and physical force, but could not restrain the man. He got to his feet and pushed past them, and one officer shot him.
"We concluded that officers were justified in using the force that they did," the IPCA said.
"However, this was a finely balanced case, and we were concerned about the use of potentially lethal force against a man moving away. Ultimately, we accepted that, after such a prolonged struggle, the officer genuinely believed that the man presented a serious danger to the officers or others if he was not apprehended and restrained."
The Authority did say, however, the officer's initial demand for the man to come out "unnecessarily escalated the situation and was the catalyst of what was to follow", at a point when police did not know who he was and he posed no threat.
A witness filmed part of the struggle on her phone. After the man was shot and taken out to the street, another officer tried to seize the phone, sparking a struggle, and pepper sprayed the witness's 13-year-old son and her father as they tried to intervene.
The Authority found police were justified in trying to take the phone, which they believed held footage that could be evidence if any use of force was later ruled unjustified, and justified in the pepper spraying because the officer believed the pair might assault him. It said officers could have explained why they wanted the phone and given a warning before spraying.
Police central district commander Superintendent Dion Bennett acknowledged the findings.
"Our officers that night were carrying out routine patrol, which quickly escalated," he said.
"Police made a split-second decision in a quickly developing circumstance where they had to defend themselves and others in the area."
Bennett said police noted the Authority's concerns and had taken lessons from the incident.
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