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Home / Investigation Reports & Media / 2023 Summaries of Police Investigations

Allegation of excess force against a female in Tasman District on 21 September 2021

9 October 2023

The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into an allegation that officers used excessive force in their dealings with a 59-year-old woman who had engaged in objectionable behaviour towards a neighbour over the course of several years.

Police concluded that the officers concerned adopted a pragmatic approach and were justified in entering the woman’s home to restrain her and place her under arrest.

The Authority determined that the offences for which the woman was said to have been arrested were not made out in the circumstances, and that there were no legal grounds to arrest her or enter her property.

There was therefore no lawful basis for the force used to detain her.

IPCA 22-14387

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