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Two officers who enabled a man in custody to self-harm did so unintentionally, the police watchdog has ruled.
The man, who was arrested for breach of bail, was being held in a cell at the Waitākere District Court on 8 October 2022.
While in the cell, he drank from an unlabelled eye drop bottle that was actually filled with Gamma-Butyrolactone, or GBL, a class A drug.
The officers who arrested the man had given him the bottle, which they found in his house and assumed was filled with regular eye drop liquid, the Independent Police Conduct Authority said.
It was the second time he had attempted self-harm while in custody, the report said.
An officer found him unresponsive after drinking from the bottle and he was rushed to hospital.
While recovering in hospital the man tried to harm himself for a third time, the IPCA said, despite being handcuffed to a Corrections officer.
The IPCA said that, "for the most part," the care police gave was appropriate - but the two officers who provided him with the bottle of GBL had breached their duty of care.
"In one sense, this case involved a series of unfortunate circumstances," Judge Kenneth Johnston KC said.
"However, ultimately, it was the departure from police's own policy that enabled [the man] to access the GBL.
"The case illustrates the importance of strict adherence to policies that exist to protect vulnerable detainees."
Police acknowledged and accepted the IPCA's findings.
"A critical incident investigation was commenced by police and the report is being finalised," Superintendent Shanan Gray said in a statement.
"A full review around the process of managing prisoner property was also carried out, and police have implemented several learnings identified as a result."
Gray said one of the two officers involved was still employed by New Zealand Police.
