An Invercargill police officer believed he was about to be shot when he fired two sponge bullets into the back of a fleeing offender.
An Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report released today found the use of sponge rounds during the arrest was justified.
A report by the IPCA said on July 18, 2022, the Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) carried out an operation at a rural Invercargill address after they intercepted Class A drugs sent through the post.
At 6pm, when AOS went to secure the property, a man, referred to as Mr Z, ran into a wooded area carrying a parcel containing drugs. AOS officers pursued him on foot.
When AOS caught up with the man, they found him standing in a hole in the ground in the dark.
During the operation, an officer referred to as Officer A said he believed he was going to be shot by Mr Z.
‘‘At that point, I felt very, very exposed. I thought this was the point in my career where I was gonna be shot.’’
Officer A said AOS said he became fearful after Mr Z was asked to show his hands.
‘‘He then started to perform an action that I considered he was loading a shotgun, and it was clear, it was very – the first movement I saw it appears if he had broken the shotgun in half and was loading the shotgun.’’
Officer A fired one sponge round at Mr Z’s back then reloaded the firearm.
When Mr Z continued to not comply, a second round was fired.
Police later learned that Mr Z, who had an extensive criminal history which included firearm-related offences, was not armed and rather than loading a gun was instead trying to bury a parcel of class A drugs.
Medical records showed Mr Z suffered from cartilage fractures to three of his left front ribs following the arrest.
Mr Z told the IPCA that he immediately complied with their requests and got on the ground with his back to the police with his hands raised.
He also alleged that after being shot, officers kicked him while he was on the ground for about 10 seconds, which he said caused his fractured ribs.
However, taser video footage from one officer present at the arrest showed several officers yelling at least nine times for Mr Z to to show them his hands, which he did not comply with.
IPCA found officers accounts were the most reliable due to the consistency between the officers’ recollections and their consistency with what the Taser footage showed. IPCA determined he was not assaulted during his arrest.
Relieving Southern District Commander acting Superintendent Shona Low said officers involved in this incident responded appropriately to the situation as they saw it unfolding, and the IPCA investigation supported this.
‘‘Our AOS staff attending this incident were incredibly professional dealing with a high-risk offender with a history of firearms convictions.’’
