The jury in the trial of three Taranaki police officers charged with manslaughter over the death of a man in custody has watched video of the moment when the officers realise their detainee has stopped breathing.
Allen Ball. Photo: SUPPLIED / Stuff
The officers, who have name suppression, have pleaded not guilty.
Allen Ball died at the Hāwera police station in the early hours of 1 June 2019.
In the video, the 55-year-old is shown lying on the floor of a holding cell wearing only his underwear.
Police officers are shown intermittently checking in on him, while going about their work.
About 1.09am the most senior officer among the accused looks in on Ball and asks if he wants a drink of water.
They get no response.
In the transcript of the CCTV footage, which the judge has warned to treat with caution, another of the accused is attributed with asking if Ball is still responsive.
The senior officer says "yeah" and a junior colleague laughs.
About an hour later, at 2.25am the third officer accused with manslaughter is seen leaning over Ball and can be heard calling out "Allen, Allen".
Constable Ben Patterson, who assisted getting Ball into the station some two hours earlier, is attributed with asking if Ball had a pulse.
The officer who had been calling out his name says "he's cold".
Patterson says "We'll get the ambos to check on him" and again asks about a pulse.
At that point, the arresting and junior officer among the three accused is attributed with saying "yeah, get an ambo" and "get them to hurry up".
Detective Sergeant Byron Reid, who analysed the CCTV footage, will be questioned about it tomorrow.
Earlier, the jury watched footage of Ball being taken into the police station just before midnight on 31 May 2019.
In the video, Ball is seen being taken out of a police car in the station's carpark - after a delay of several minutes - and rolled onto a blanket and carried into the station by five or six people.
Another camera inside the station, captures Ball being dragged across the floor and placed in a holding cell.
He is seen lying on the floor in the recovery position in his underwear.
Constable Ben Patterson, who helped get Ball into station, was asked by the Crown if he had ever seen a person carried inside in that way before?
To which he replied: "No."
Patterson, who was the field training officer for one of the accused, told the court there was no concern about Ball's condition at that stage.
"He was asleep had drunk an unknown amount of alcohol at that point. I just thought he was sleeping."
Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke asked if he had known Ball had not responded to pain compliance testing.
To which Patterson replied that he hadn't.
Clarke followed up by asking what the procedure was when somebody did not respond to pain compliance testing.
Patterson said it was "to call an ambulance".
It was Patterson who walked past the holding cell at 2.25am and noticed Ball had stopped snoring.
He alerted another officer, who began CPR, while Constable Patterson called for ambulance.
Under cross-examination by Susan Hughes QC, representing the most senior of the three accused officers, Patterson was asked what condition he was in when arrested at Hastings Road.
He told the jury that Ball was lucid but affected by alcohol.
Patterson was asked if he was aware Ball had threatened suicide?
To which he replied "yes" he had heard that over the police radio on the way to Hastings Road.
Following further questioning, Patterson confirmed there was no suicide risk noted on the police computer for Ball.
He also told Hughes he often dealt with people affected by alcohol who fell asleep and snored, and snored heavily.
Hughes asked him if he knew heavy snoring could be indicative of more serious problems.
To which Patterson replied, he wasn't.
The court also heard from Constable Rocco Gous, who had been at the arrest scene and helped get Ball into the Hāwera Police Station.
He told Crown prosecutor Jacob Bourke that when he arrived at the station with one of the accused they found three officers struggling to get Ball out of a patrol car.
He was asked about Ball's condition.
"Mr Ball seemed unconscious. His limbs were limp and he was clearly stuck and couldn't get himself out of the car and needed assistance to get out of the car."
"His feet were stuck under the left front passenger seat. Somebody had to go around and free his feet."
Gous was asked what made him think Ball was unconscious.
"The fact that he wasn't responding to pain compliance, he wasn't assisting us, and that his limbs were limp indicated he was unconscious," he said.
Gous said the officers made a plan to get him into the station and he went inside to get a blanket.
"The cells have a tear-proof blanket .... and from previous experience I thought that would work. Once we had the blanket underneath him we had the lift and could carry him up the ramp."
Gous said while carrying Ball into the station there was a moment when he thought he was awake.
"It was just when we were carrying him in through the narrow bit in the building. It looked like his eyes were open and he was grinning.
"I mentioned that I wasn't sure if he was unconscious or just having us on."
Under cross examination, Gous - who returned to Stratford where he was based at about 1.25am - said he was surprised to hear that Ball had died because he thought he was okay.
