A police watchdog investigation into the pepper-spraying and forceful arrest of a man who was wrongfully identified has found mistakes were made by all staff involved. Photo / 123RF
A man arriving for work at a Whanganui supermarket was pepper-sprayed and forcefully arrested by two police officers before they realised they’d got the wrong man.
The officers believed he was a suspect seen unlawfully on a nearby property and heading towards the same supermarket.
Police have apologised to the man after an investigation by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) identified mistakes by all staff involved.
Central district commander Superintendent Dion Bennett acknowledged that the apology did not ease the distress caused.
“We again extend our sincerest apologies to the man for what he went through.
“We take responsibility for what happened, and we accept that this should never have occurred.”
Bennett said police identified areas where their actions and processes needed improvement and had reinforced expectations around decision-making and identification processes.
The incident began when police received a description of a man wearing “all dark clothing and a hooded top”.
A police dog tracked the scent through nearby properties, and a police staff member watching CCTV advised that she had seen a male of that description leaving the street and heading towards the supermarket.
Two officers near the supermarket saw a man they believed fitted the description and tried to speak to him.
He indicated that he was on his way to work and did not wish to talk to them. He kept walking.
A sergeant instructed the officers by radio to arrest him if he fitted the description of the suspect, so they followed him to the supermarket.
The more senior officer instructed her colleague to detain the man, so her colleague followed him into the supermarket while the senior officer remained outside, speaking to another officer who had arrived to help.
When the pursuing officer found the man and told him he wanted to speak with him, the man continued walking away.
The officer grabbed the man’s umbrella and tried to take it, and a struggle ensued.
The assisting officer approached and told the man he was under arrest, but he refused to let go of a desk to be restrained and handcuffed, so the officer pepper-sprayed him, the investigation found.
During the arrest, the more senior officer outside received information from a supermarket worker that “called into question” the officers’ assumptions about the man, the IPCA report said.
Police viewed security camera footage and realised the man they had arrested was wearing different clothes from the man in the footage, so they released him.
The investigation was prompted after police notified the IPCA of the incident. The wrongfully arrested man also made a complaint.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus (Te Taoū) is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. He can be emailed at [email protected].
