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Home / Investigation Reports & Media / 2018-19 Summaries of Police Investigations

Complaint of excessive force during arrest in Waikato

7 January 2019

Mr X complained that Police in Waikato District used excessive force when they arrested Mr Y for disorderly behaviour in March 2018.

The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into the complaint.

The Police investigation identified that Officer A used a body strike against Mr Y during the arrest. Police found that there was insufficient evidence to charge Officer A with assault as Mr Y was behaving aggressively towards officers and was actively resisting their attempts to arrest him.

However, Police found that there were more effective tactical options available to Officer A during the arrest procedure.

The complaint was partially upheld. Training was provided to the officers involved to identify and apply best practices in future situations. The Authority's review of the Police investigation agreed with the findings.

IPCA: 17-1985

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