A former police crisis negotiator says there are strict rules for checking on and caring for prisoners in police custody and records have to be signed off by a senior officer.
Three police officers are facing manslaughter charges following a death in custody at the Hawera station just over a year ago.
The charges allege the officers were grossly negligent in their duty of care to the 55-year-old man.
The trio has been stood down from duties. During his career in the force Lance Burdett led an investigation into a serious alleged assault by police officers.
Lisa Owen asked him how high the threshold is for manslaughter charges.
