A spokesperson for Papua New Guinea's Police says the recent shooting in Popondetta of a 15-year-old in police custody will undermine public confidence in the force.
The Post Courier paper reports the teenager was being held by police after the stabbing of a supermarket manager during a robbery in the Oro province town.
The provincial police commander says the officer's alleged to have gone into a holding cell and shot the young man many times.
It's the second shooting in the province by a police officer of a suspect in custody.
Superintendent Dominic Kakas says PNG's Police Commissioner, Gary Baki, takes such matters very seriously and an investigation is underway.
"We've done our level best to try and win back public confidence. He's taken on a number of initiatives to also improve policing and so on and this sort of like sets back a lot of positive developments that have taken place."
Papua New Guinea's police spokesperson, Superintendent Dominic Kakas.
