22 Nov 2018

Police officer's taser use on man out of line, IPCA finds

3:21 pm on 22 November 2018

A police officer has been censured for tasering a man who was on the ground.

A NZ police-issue taser.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has reprimanded an officer who tasered a man after he fell to the ground. Photo: NZ Police

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has investigated an incident where officers were called to a park in New Lynn in Auckland, following complaints about a group of people threatening others.

The group then began aggressively threatening police.

One officer feared for his safety and tasered a man, something the authority found he was justified in doing.

However, he tasered the man again after he had fallen to the ground, which the authority said should not have happened.

The police said they accepted the authority's decision, but noted that the officer made his call in a high pressure and dangerous situation where he was outnumbered.

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