Unjustified strike in the cells of the Manukau District Court

The Independent Police Oversight Authority has found that a detention officer unjustifiably struck a detainee on the side of the head in the cells of the Manukau District Court in January 2023.

Since arriving in the court’s cells, the man had been slow to follow orders and had behaved aggressively toward staff. When the prison officer went to pick the man up to meet with his lawyer, the man challenged him to a fight and threatened him, saying: “I want to shoot you and your family.”

Ten minutes later, the man returned to the hallway and verbally abused inmates in other cells. The guard and his colleague ordered him to return to his cell. The man walked slowly down the hallway while verbally abusing the guard, repeating his challenge to a fight, and again threatening to shoot him and his family.

Video footage shows that the man then walked past the guard to continue towards his cell. The guard punched him in the side of the face, causing the man to stumble sideways into a wall.

The agency reviewed the footage and interviewed the detention officer and his colleagues who were nearby at the time of the incident. The detention officer stated that he preemptively struck the inmate in self-defense because he felt threatened and believed the inmate was about to attack him.

The agency concluded that the detention officer had less violent means at his disposal. He could have moved away from the man or pushed him away to redirect him. In this light, the agency concluded that the strike was unnecessary and therefore unjustified.

The agency admits that the police did not have enough evidence to charge the arresting officer with assault.

The detention officer no longer works for the police.

Public report